It’s no secret that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro wants his state to legalize adult-use cannabis, after the medical marijuana industry has already put up big sales numbers. The state reported $1.7 billion in MMJ sales for 2024 and $7 billion since the program was initiated in 2020, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Those figures make the prospects of adult-use sales very enticing. But medical cannabis operators in the state fear that one of the proposals for establishing a recreational program could destroy their businesses.
Meredith Buettner Schneider, executive director of the Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition, said the state house, which is led by Democrats, is moving forward with a policy that would distribute cannabis through a state-run system.
“We have a state-run model for liquor,” she said. “Our state is the seller of all wine and spirits here in Pennsylvania, and they are considering a similar treatment for adult-use cannabis.”
The Democrats say that the state would collect more revenue and could prevent large companies from dominating the market under a state-run model.
There are currently 40 companies operating 186 medical marijuana dispensaries. Those include large MSOs, such as Trulieve, Cresco Labs, Curaleaf and Verano, but the state is also seeing the growth of new cultivators and smaller local operators.
One of the big concerns about a state-run model, according to Buettner Schneider, is jobs. “This industry has created over 25,000 family-sustaining jobs in Pennsylvania, and we cannot risk putting any of those folks out of work,” she said.
That concern was echoed by Luke Koval, founder of Gratitude Gardens, a local cultivator.
“We hope it doesn’t go state store model. We have an opportunity to create things for folks like us,” he said. “… If we go through that model (store), you could not only eliminate 25,000 jobs but diminish a lot of potential for new job creation.”
It’s also something NORML Pennsylvania has taken a position against. “We are advocating against the state store model. It’s a glass ceiling for black and brown people, working class people and anyone who wants to be an actual owner in the industry going forward,” said Theresa Nightingale, who works with the Pittsburgh chapter of NORML. Nightingale is also the corporate social responsibility manager for Cresco Labs.
She also believes that this type of legislation consideration will make implementing adult-use sales in the state take longer than focusing on the comprehensive reform that people actually want.
The next step, however, is actually getting the legislation introduced. Nightingale said she heard that new legislation is about to drop on 4/20 – which isn’t necessarily a positive.
“I think the community is sick and tired of the pandering of the politicians caring about this thing around the time of April for some media hits,” she said. “Legalization is not inevitable. Several legalization bills have been implemented without the support from the Democrats. Definitely not from the Republicans. So, while the Republicans are actively hostile, the Democrats seem to be apathetic.”
No states that have legalized adult-use have used a state-store model. Pennsylvania’s approach would be modeled after its alcohol industry, where all alcohol stores are both controlled and operated by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) with unionized government employees. According to an American Economic Review report in 2013, Pennsylvania has higher alcohol store operation costs and far fewer stores per capita than other states.
That same report notes that If the system was privatized, the costs would be lower and there would be more stores for the state’s citizens. The report also found that fewer stores led to less alcohol consumption, a holdover from the transition out of prohibition.
A recent analysis by Spotlight PA reported that 26 companies spent over $1.6 million on lobbying efforts for cannabis reforms in Pennsylvania last year. Some of the biggest spenders were MSOs, with more than $800,000 of the total coming from these industry giants.
[[{“value”:”Advocates from several organizations expressed concern that such a model would cost the industry up to 25,000 jobs.
The post Pennsylvania’s medical market fears a state-store model for adult-use appeared first on Green Market Report.”}]] Read More
