HARRISBURG — Any plan to legalize marijuana for adults must include efforts for restorative justice and social equity, members of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus said Tuesday, or risk failing without their support.
More than a dozen representatives and senators from the 39-member bicameral caucus gathered in the State Capitol Rotunda to detail initiatives they demand be included should adult-use legalization materialize — something not expected in ongoing efforts to finalize the commonwealth’s next budget.
“If what comes forth is perfunctory, symbolic, performative, I don’t imagine the Black Caucus will be down,” Rep. Christopher Rabb, D-Philadelphia, said. “You can’t get it done without the Black Caucus.”
Though a final plan doesn’t appear to be near, conversations and proposals surrounding legalization have never enjoyed the momentum that’s built during the 2023-24 Legislative Session.
There are multiple bills in the House and Senate proposing legalization. Committees in both chambers held first-ever hearings on adult-use marijuana. Gov. Josh Shapiro included legalization in his budget proposal, estimating tax revenue at $250 million once the industry is settled. His proposal includes an initial $5 million investment for restorative justice plus automatic expungement of criminal records for those imprisoned solely for possession.
Legalization is increasingly popular in public opinion polls, with Pew Research Center’s latest poll finding 57% of Americans support legalization for both recreational and medicinal use. Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program went live in 2018. At least 24 states including five bordering Pennsylvania legalized adult-use marijuana.
Rep. Rick Krajewski, D-Philadelphia, chair of the House Subcommittee on Health Care, spoke of his takeaways from the hearings.
“One, that it is long overdue for Pennsylvania to legalize cannabis. And, two, that we only have one shot at this so we better get it right,” Krajewski said. “The issue that is important to me is how do we as a commonwealth atone for the harms caused not only by the criminalization of cannabis but by the racialized enforcement of our criminal legal system.”
Expungement counts among the initiatives the Legislative Black Caucus seeks, including for parole violations. The policy points they desire also include methods for resentencing and exoneration along with the return of property forfeited during criminal investigations.
They call for economic incentives prioritizing pathways for Black and Brown people to enter the ground floor of an adult-use industry in Pennsylvania including growing, processing and selling marijuana products.
Within that framework would be a Cannabis Development Fund within a new Office of Social Equity. Rep. Napoleon Nelson, D-Montgomery, Legislative Black Caucus chair, said it could be funded and maintained with a direct appropriation by the legislature plus revenue from excise and sales taxes and licensing fees. Part of the money would be dedicated to community investments through programs meant to stymie recidivism, create land banks and traditional housing, and boost community parks and recreation.
“We expect to offer a large portion of these licenses to social equity licensees, dedicated to entrepreneurs who have been directly impacted by the war on drugs,” Nelson said.
Many, though not all, of the initiatives cited by Nelson and others are included in at least three separate bills introduced in the General Assembly. Any of the bills could be amended to include the measures advocated for by the Legislative Black Caucus.
A bipartisan measure announced last month by State Reps. Emily Kinkead, D-Allegheny, and Aaron Kaufer, R-Luzerne, might be closest. It includes aspects of economic equity and restorative justice sought by the Legislative Black Caucus.
Sen. Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia, who himself has a bipartisan bill for legalization with Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, called it a good proposal. He cast doubt on another bill that would see sales made through Pennsylvania’s state-owned liquor stores, saying it wouldn’t pass the Senate.
Ultimately, Street said he’s not concerned with which bill achieves the overriding goal.
“It’s about getting this done, getting a bill through the House, through the Senate and onto Gov. Shapiro’s desk so the people can see relief, we can experience the benefits for our economy and guess what, the war on cannabis which has disproportionately affected people of color can end,” Street said.