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Twenty-six companies spent over $1.6 million on lobbying in Pennsylvania for cannabis reforms last year, according to a Spotlight PA analysis, with over $800,000 coming from multistate cannabis companies.
Trulieve, which operates cannabis businesses in nine states, spent over $210,000 on lobbying in Pennsylvania last year, with $165,000 spent on direct communications and $45,000 on indirect communication. The Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition (PCC), a trade organization, spent $171,720 on lobbying last year, which Meredith Buettner, the group’s executive director, told Spotlight was used to advocate for “modernization to the medical marijuana program,” and “advancing adult-use legislation.”
According to data from the state Department of State Lobbying Disclosure Database, in addition to Trulieve and the PCC, 24 other companies and organizations spent money lobbying for cannabis reforms in the state, including:
Cresco Labs – $149,084
PA Options for Wellness, Inc. – $105,000
CannTech PA – $90,770
Veranos – $90,000
Curaleaf – $90,000
Penn AltOrganics – $78,000
Organic Remedies Inc – $75,157
Acreage Holdings – $69,066
Restore Integrated Wellness Center – $68, 641
Ascend Wellness Holdings – $65,942
Holistic Farms, LLC – $60,871
Maitri Holdings LLC – $48,000
Metrc – $39,000
FarmaceuticalsRX – $38,500
GIT Pennsylvania – $36,040
MLH Explorations, LLC – $28,984
Terrapin – $24,586
US Cannalytics – $24,000
ACT Laboratories, Inc. – $20,000
Jushi Holdings – $19,500
Green Leaf Medical, LLC – $16,250
Whole Plants – $15,000
American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp – $6,653
Leaflink – $3,260
Some cannabis company executives also contributed to political candidates and lawmakers in Pennsylvania, including Benjamin Kovler, CEO and founder of Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries (GTI), who contributed $45,000 to Pennsylvania’s highest-ranking lawmakers last year. Kovler gave Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) a $25,000 donation while splitting evenly the remaining funds between state House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D) and Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R). Anthony Georgiadis, president of GTI, contributed $10,000 apiece to state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R) and State Sen. Dan Laughlin (R), who also chairs the chamber’s Law and Justice Committee.
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TG joined Ganjapreneur in 2014 as a news writer and began hosting the Ganjapreneur podcast in 2016. He is based in upstate New York, where he also teaches media studies at a local university.
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“}]] [[{“value”:”Twenty-six companies spent over $1.6 million on lobbying in Pennsylvania for cannabis reforms last year, according to a Spotlight PA analysis, with over $800,000 coming from multistate cannabis companies.
Trulieve, which operates cannabis businesses in nine states, spent over $210,000 on lobbyi”}]] Read More
