[[{“value”:”Feb 18, 2025
Reporter
mmaroney@sungazette.com
State Rep. Joe Hamm, R-Hepburn Township, said he will be voting against legalizing marijuana for personal use, which is one of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s ways to bring in revenue in the proposed $51.5 billion budget for 2025-2026.
Shapiro, who expressed how he wrestled with the proposal being a father of four, said in his budget address to legislators that legalizing it and taxing it would generate an estimated $1.3 billion over a five year period.
Pennsylvanians make up 60 % of purchasers at some out-of-state cannabis shops and he wants to keep those buyers in the commonwealth. “Twenty-four states have already legalized adult-use cannabis. That includes almost every single one of our neighbors,” Shapiro told legislators.
Medical marijuana has been legal in Pennsylvania since 2016. Former Gov. Tom Wolf first proposed legalizing cannabis in 2019, but he was unsuccessful. Shapiro was similarly unsuccessful when he proposed it in his budget last year.
Hamm said he does not fault Shapiro for wanting to bring in the revenue through taxation of the drug, but said his research shows the problems outweigh the benefits associated with legalization in other states.
He cited the issue as it relates to Colorado, which legalized the drug for personal use in 2012. Other states have followed suit, as Shapiro noted in his budget proposal address.
Since then, the state has incurred skyrocketing costs in the Medicaid and hospital systems and drug treatment facilities are overwhelmed by users’ issues. By his own research, Hamm said Colorado has seen a 2,000 % increase in the amount of overdose related medical issues such as having to pump stomachs from individuals who ingest far too many gummies, brownies, cookies with THC in them, according to researched statistics provided by Hamm.
It is too easy for people to think they can take more because they resemble candy or sweets and taste good, which can result in over dosage issues, he said.
Then there are the mental health issues and Colorado has seen an uptick in mental health consulting and counseling due to legalizing the drug, he said.
Hamm argued that legalization of the “gateway” drug leads to experimentation and use of other drugs as users seek to get similar euphoria and effects once they reach the pinnacle of the high the THC provides.
Additionally, he said, he fears increased crime, diminished traffic safety, and costs to public health providers.
Instead, Hamm said while he opposed its legalization he could continue to support giving people charged with possessing a small amount of marijuana or drug paraphernalia a “second chance.”
While he said he would leave it up to law enforcement, drug and alcohol treatment specialists and the courts, he said he would not want to see an individual charged with these crimes be unable to get back on their feet in terms of getting a full-time job.
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“}]] State Rep. Joe Hamm, R-Hepburn Township, said he will be voting against legalizing marijuana for personal use, which is one of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s ways to bring in revenue in the proposed $51.5 billion budget for 2025-2026. Shapiro, who expressed how he wrestled with the proposal being a father of four, said in his budget Read More
