Bipartisan Pennsylvania voters in two key competitive House districts are strongly in favor of legalizing marijuana, according to a new poll. And most agree that enacting the reform this session is “crucial to stimulate economic growth.”
The survey, commissioned by the advocacy group Responsible PA and conducted by the research firm Cygnal, looked at voters’ attitudes toward legalization in HD 44 and HD 18—districts that are currently represented by Republicans but where polling shows the race will be especially tight during next month’s election.
The takeaway was clear: majorities of voters in those jurisdictions, including Republicans, are in favor of the reform.
When asked about the prospect of regulating adult-use cannabis, 67 percent of voters in HD 44 and 68 percent of voters in HD 18 said they back the policy. That includes a majority of GOP voters in both district: 56 percent in HD 44 and 55 percent in HD 18.
With lawmakers back in Harrisburg for the rest of the 2024 session—and Election Day around the corner—the poll offers timely insights about voter preferences. And it also underscored their feeling that the reform is urgently needed, in part to boost the economy.
In HD 44, 48 percent of respondents said legislators should move on legalization this session to stimulate the economy. That sentiment was shared with 53 percent of voters in HD 18.
Also, while most voters said a candidate’s position on legalization wouldn’t on its own affect their decision at the polls, about one-third of those in HD 44 (32 percent) and 34 percent of voters in HD 18 said they’d be more likely to back a candidate who supports allowing regulated access to marijuana.
“The polls consistently show voters want full cannabis legalization now. We know support for the issue crosses party lines and regions,” Responsible PA spokesperson Brittany Crampsie said in a press release. “Voters across the political spectrum favor regulated cannabis for its economic benefits and potential to advance criminal justice reform.”
“The message from voters is clear: it’s time for action on cannabis legalization,” she said. “As lawmakers stare down re-election campaigns and a dwindling budget surplus, it has never been a better time to adopt a popular, fiscally responsible program.”
The survey involved interviews with 316 likely general election voters from October 1-3, with a margin of error of +/-5.49 percentage points.
Responsible PA commissioned a separate poll last month that similarly found that a majority of voters in five other key tossup districts support ending prohibition.
Last month Reps. Aaron Kaufer (R) and Emily Kinkead (D) formally introduced a bipartisan marijuana legalization bill, alongside 15 other cosponsors.
And in July, the Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said the administration and lawmakers would “come back and continue to fight” for marijuana legalization and other policy priorities that were omitted from budget legislation he signed into law that month.
Meanwhile, a top GOP Pennsylvania senator who has long expressed concerns about marijuana legalization told advocates RECENTLY that she’s against arresting people over cannabis, noting that the policy change could protect her son and disclosing that if it weren’t for marijuana, she might not have met her husband, according to an activist who spoke with her.
As Pennsylvania’s legislature reconvenes amid rising pressure to enact legalization, advocates view the comments from Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R) as a positive sign that the dam on cannabis reform measures might be weakening in the commonwealth.
At a Black Cannabis Week event hosted recently by the Diasporic Alliance for Cannabis Opportunities (DACO), Sen. Sharif Street (D) and Reps. Chris Rabb (D), Amen Brown (D), Darisha Parker (D) and Napoleon Nelson (D) joined activists to discuss their legislative priorities and motivations behind advancing legalization in the Keystone State.
At a press briefing in July, the chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus seemed to temper expectations about the potential timeline of passing legalization legislation, pointing out that the rest of the session will likely be too politically charged heading into the November election to get the job done this year.
Other lawmakers have emphasized the urgency of legalizing as soon as possible given regional dynamics, while signaling that legislators are close to aligning House and Senate proposals.
New data has also underscored the urgency of enacting cannabis reform, revealing that more than 12,000 people were arrested for cannabis possession in the Keystone state last year.
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Meanwhile, a report commissioned by activists projected that Pennsylvania would see up to $2.8 billion in adult-use marijuana sales in the first year of implementing legalization, generate as much as $720 million in tax revenue and create upwards of 45,000 jobs.
Street and Dan Laughlin (R) also participated in an X Spaces event in June where they said the votes are there to pass a marijuana legalization bill as soon as this year, though they stressed that the governor needs to work across the aisle to get the job done—and argued that it would be helpful if the federal government implemented its proposed cannabis rescheduling rule sooner rather than later.
Street was also among advocates and lawmakers who participated in a cannabis rally at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in June, where there was a significant emphasis on the need to incorporate social equity provisions as they move to advance legalization.
Laughlin, for his part, also said an event in May that the state is “getting close” to legalizing marijuana, but the job will only get done if House and Senate leaders sit down with the governor and “work it out.”
Warren County, Pennsylvania District Attorney Robert Greene, a registered medical cannabis patient in the state, filed a lawsuit in federal court in January seeking to overturn a ban preventing medical marijuana patients from buying and possessing firearms.
Two Pennsylvania House panels held a joint hearing to discuss marijuana legalization in April, with multiple lawmakers asking the state’s top liquor regulator about the prospect of having that agency run cannabis shops.
Also in April, members of the House Health Committee had a conversation centered on social justice and equity considerations for reform.
At a prior meeting in March, members focused on criminal justice implications of prohibition and the potential benefits of reform.
At another hearing in February, members looked at the industry perspective, with multiple stakeholders from cannabis growing, dispensing and testing businesses, as well as clinical registrants, testifying.
At the subcommittee’s previous cannabis meeting in December, members heard testimony and asked questions about various elements of marijuana oversight, including promoting social equity and business opportunities, laboratory testing and public versus private operation of a state-legal cannabis industry.
And during the panel’s first meeting late last year, Frankel said that state-run stores are “certainly an option” he’s considering for Pennsylvania, similar to what New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) recommended for that state last year, though a state commission later shied away from that plan.
Last year, Shapiro signed a bill to allow all licensed medical marijuana grower-processors in the state to sell their cannabis products directly to patients.
Separately, Pennsylvania’s prior governor separately signed a bill into law in July 2022 that included provisions to protect banks and insurers in the state that work with licensed medical marijuana businesses.
And on Wednesday, the legislature sent a bill to Shapiro to correct an omission in a law that unintentionally excluded dispensaries from state-level tax relief for the medical marijuana industry.
Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.
Bipartisan Pennsylvania voters in two key competitive House districts are strongly in favor of legalizing marijuana, according to a new poll. And most agree that enacting the reform this session is “crucial to stimulate economic growth.” The survey, commissioned by the advocacy group Responsible PA and conducted by the research firm Cygnal, looked at voters’ Read More