Gov. Wolf calls for legalization of adult recreational marijuana use
Gov. Tom Wolf called for the decriminalization and legalization of adult use of recreational marijuana Wednesday after concluding Pennsylvanians support his announcements.
Wolf, during a live streamed news conference from Harrisburg, made the announcements after Lt. Gov. John Fetterman concluded his marijuana listening tour of all of the state’s 67 counties.
“This is something I think Pennsylvania is ready for,” Wolf said, with Fetterman at his side.
The governor made three requests of the Legislatures, the first of which involved getting a bill to his desk that would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
The second call to action involved a law that would expunge the records of people with such convictions, a move he said would affect “tens of thousands of people.”
He said these convictions have ruined lives and prevented people from getting jobs, finding housing and enrolling in schools.
His third request of state lawmakers, something that might be more difficult to accomplish, is for the House and Senate to seriously consider the legalization of small amounts of marijuana.
“I agree with that,” Wolf said.
More than 10,000 people attended Fetterman’s listening tour over 93 days, and it included a February stop in Washington, where he was greeted with overwhelming support for legalizing cannabis.
Chad DeSantis, a supporter of legalization from Monongahela, said the time is right to legalize recreational cannabis use.
“Not only has science determined that the most dangerous things about the plant are buying it on the black market or getting caught with it, the current regulations should already make most existing laws impossible for the police to enforce legally,” DeSantis said.
Meanwhile, in Greene County, where opinions on recreational marijuana were equally mixed when Fetterman stopped there in February, one woman referred to Wolf’s proposal as a “costly disaster.”
“This is a dangerous game being played and these politicians are going to start a fire that no man will be able to control,” said Stephanie MacCartney of Waynesburg.
Randy Raymond of North Union Township in Fayette County has characterized himself as being “in the middle,” with concern about the murkiness of DUI testing for marijuana and in favor of making the question of legalization a direct ballot referendum.
“I understand the taxation piece, (but) where would tax dollars go, what are they going to be earmarked for?” Raymond said.
Fetterman said Wednesday opposition to legalization is “a minority view now in Pennsylvania.”
He said no one who came to his meetings believed marijuana should be a Schedule I drug under federal law, putting it in the same category as heroin.
Of the people who attended the listening tour, 68% were in favor of legalization, Wolf said.
Of those who provided other comments, either by phone or email, 82% supported legalization, he said.
The state House Republican Leadership team was quick to denounce Wolf’s proposal to legalize small amounts of marijuana.
“We are disappointed and frustrated Gov. Wolf would promote recreational use of a drug classified as a Schedule I narcotic by the federal government. Our state is in the midst of an opioid epidemic,” the GOP leadership stated in a news release.
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll, said she agreed with House Republicans.
“This is not the time to legalize,” said Bartolotta.
She said she didn’t believe the statistics drawn from Fetterman’s tour represent the opinions of her district.
She said she does support the decriminalization of possessing small amounts of the drug.