HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania State Rep. Jake Wheatley (D) is launching an online petition to legalize marijuana. Wheatley announced the pot petition in a press release on Aug. 21.
The legislation would legalize recreational marijuana for adult-use in Pennsylvania. The pot petition legislation, called House Bill 2600, is available online and demonstrates the benefits of passing the legislation for the Commonwealth. The pot petition also notes the accomplishments of the state's medical marijuana program.
The state's medical marijuana program was enacted in 2018 and has been successful so far. At least 52,000 medical consumers have registered for the state's medical marijuana program already, and more than 30,000 of them have received their ID cards enabling them to consume medical marijuana legally.
Medical consumers are able to purchase medical marijuana at a dispensary using marijuana cultivated by the state's farmers. They will also have access to state-approved physicians who can prescribe the drug. At least 700 of the 1,000 doctors that have applied to the program have been approved.
Wheatley also says that Pennsylvania could potentially generate more than $580 million annually by taxing marijuana. "That's money to balance our budget, strengthen our economy, bolster our workforce and improve our schools," said Wheatley, adding that legalizing marijuana would save the state millions of dollars on law enforcement costs by utilizing its resources to focus on violent crimes.
"Prohibiting recreational use of marijuana does nothing to meaningfully reduce access to this relatively safe drug. On the other hand, continuing prohibition allows organized crime ? for whom marijuana is a major money-maker ? to flourish," he said.
Wheatley's belief that the black-market would suffer under legalization may already be happening. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that marijuana seizures have decreased more than 50 percent since 2012 when Colorado and Washington legalized the drug as drug cartels began to decrease smuggling marijuana due to demand.
Prohibition also affects marginalized communities at a disproportionate rate even though white people and minorities consume marijuana equally. Black people are arrested at 4 times the rate of white people on average in the U.S. for marijuana, and black people in Pennsylvania are arrested at 8.2 times the rate of white people for weed.
Pot Bill Would Expunge Criminal Records
Wheatley says that his legislation would also expunge the criminal records of people who have been convicted for marijuana crimes that would be considered legal under the new law while noting that other states have been successful in legalizing the drug.
"States from coast to coast have embraced legalization and those states are reaping the economic and criminal-justice benefits. It is time Pennsylvania joins with those states in leaving behind the ugly stigma of marijuana." San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón took it upon himself to automatically expunge cases involving marijuana going back to the 1970's. Gascón made the announcement shortly after California legalized recreational marijuana on Jan.1.
A bill by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to decriminalize marijuana also has a provision that would expunge or seal criminal records for pot offenses, and Wheatley aims to do the same with his bill.
Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale also agrees that the state should legalize marijuana. DePasquale said in a news conference that 56 percent of the voters in the state favor legalizing marijuana. His report on the benefits of legalizing marijuana states that the tax revenue could be used to fund health care for veterans and children. If Philadelphia taxed marijuana at a rate of 1 or 2 percent, the city would earn $6.9 million in tax revenue per year.
DePasquale also said that that the revenue could be used to treat opioid addiction in the state. "Legislators must act now so that we can be competitive and not lose potential revenue to other states," he concluded.
