Republicans resist Josh Shapiro’s ‘gimmicky’ marijuana push

For the third time as governor, Shapiro is asking lawmakers to follow 24 other states that permit recreational use, promising $1.3 billion in new revenue over the next five years.

“I know some are going to say it’s complicated, but it’s been talked about for years,” Shapiro told the General Assembly last month in his annual budget address. “And just in the last two years, Ohio legalized, Maryland legalized, and we keep falling further behind.”

Legalization of recreational marijuana has some Republican backing in the General Assembly, including Sen. Daniel Laughlin, who chairs a committee of jurisdiction for cannabis legislation.

But Republicans, who control the Pennsylvania Senate, have little appetite to move on a bill this year. There is resistance on public safety grounds, with intoxicated driving chief among the concerns expressed by law enforcement groups.

Most objections raised by GOP legislators, however, actually focus on the perceived shortcomings of current proposals or legal hurdles due to marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I drug.

Sen. Joe Pittman, the majority leader of the Pennsylvania Senate, criticized the way Pennsylvania rolled out medical marijuana when it became legal in 2016 and called the revenue projections put forward by Shapiro inflated.

In an interview, he said that opposition is shared by the lion’s share of his caucus even if some Republicans are receptive to legalization.

“My obligation as majority leader is to try to make sure I understand where the prevailing view of our caucus is,” he told the Washington Examiner, “and I do not yet see that prevailing view within our caucus.”

Rep. Jesse Topper, the GOP leader of the Pennsylvania House, called Republican support in his caucus “fairly limited.” Democrats narrowly control that chamber by a zero-vote margin.

Shapiro offered a financial argument for changing the law in his budget address, warning that neighboring states are reaping the tax revenue of Pennsylvania residents who smoke marijuana.

He estimated that up to 60% of those visiting dispensaries in adjoining states are from Pennsylvania.

“Letting this business operate in the shadows doesn’t make sense, and by doing nothing, we’re making Pennsylvania less competitive,” Shapiro said. “Let’s not kid ourselves. Pennsylvanians who want to buy cannabis are just driving across the border to one of our neighbors.”

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro arrives to deliver his budget address for the 2025-26 fiscal year to a joint session of the state House and Senate at the Capitol is seen, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Shapiro’s math has been scrutinized by Republicans who say the tax windfall would be far smaller than the $1.3 billion he’s projecting. 

New Jersey raised nearly $50 million in 2024, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, while Maryland is expected to gross more than $100 million this year.

Part of the discrepancy comes down to the licensing fees Shapiro’s office says it will collect in the first year, totaling more than $500 million.

The 20% sales tax Shapiro is proposing, a figure that is double some neighboring states, is another. 

Democrats reason that Pennsylvania should not be leaving revenue on the table, no matter the projection used for legalization. Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office estimated that legal marijuana could yield $41 million in year one and up to $271 million by 2028.

“Look, it’s not going to solve all problems, but it will generate revenue, and significant revenue in a way that we don’t have to raise taxes on ordinary Pennsylvanians,” said Sen. Sharif Street, the co-sponsor of a Senate legalization bill.

Still, Republicans say legalization is not a realistic way to close the $4.5 billion shortfall Pennsylvania faces in this year’s budget, with Topper calling it a “gimmicky tax.”

Pittman was similarly dismissive. “You know, I’m not a believer that revenue from vices should be a driver in the conversation,” he said.

The two parties are navigating the debate over marijuana in a changing political climate. Half of Pennsylvania residents support recreational legalization, according to a 2024 survey from Muhlenberg College, compared to 33% in 2013.

Some polls show support approaching two-thirds of Pennsylvania voters, though Muhlenberg found a decline in its last three surveys.

The breakdown generally falls along party lines, with one poll commissioned by ResponsiblePA, a pro-legalization group, showing 53% of Republicans in favor and 85% of Democrats.

That change in public sentiment has carried over to the Pennsylvania government. Shapiro is himself a convert on marijuana, endorsing legalization for recreational use in 2019, about three years into his tenure as Pennsylvania attorney general.

In the General Assembly, Street says he found little support for marijuana legalization when he first arrived in Harrisburg eight years ago but that nearly every Democrat is on board today.

He is co-sponsoring his legalization bill with Laughlin, while Sen. Gene Yaw, a second Republican, signaled openness to lifting the prohibition on recreational use in a recent interview with local media.

“Now almost all the Democrats, I think nearly every Democrat, supports it, and there are a significant number of Republicans,” he said in an interview.

“So, we’ve made significant progress,” he added.

Topper, the House GOP leader, said he believes popular support for legalization is somewhat overstated, especially in more conservative parts of the commonwealth, but conceded marijuana is no longer met with the same “visceral” reaction it once was.

“There’s no doubt that the culture has changed,” he told the Washington Examiner.

The crux of the Democratic argument for legalization is that law enforcement resources are better spent on harder drugs than marijuana. Street also noted the disproportionate arrest of black people for possession.

Shapiro made each of these arguments in his budget address last month, asking the General Assembly to send him a bill that expunges the records of those convicted of nonviolent marijuana offenses.

But Pittman said he did not see the “depth needed to have a serious conversation” on legalization, insisting that Shapiro send the General Assembly the legislation he wants signed into law.

“When we deal with an issue such as this, that is nuanced and of such a great magnitude, I think the governor first owes us words on paper that clearly show what his vision for such an initiative is,” Pittman said.

The governor’s office pointed the Washington Examiner to Shapiro’s budget blueprint, which, in addition to expungement, requests $10 million for “restorative justice initiatives” and $25 million for small businesses entering the cannabis marketplace.

Much of the GOP opposition boils down to practical objections to his proposal. Topper suggested that a 20% tax rate was so high it would perpetuate the illicit market that already exists in Pennsylvania.

He also called the Schedule I classification of marijuana “one of the largest stumbling blocks” since banks won’t lend to dispensaries unless federal restrictions are relaxed.

The Drug Enforcement Administration moved to lower that classification, reserved for substances like heroin, under President Joe Biden last year, but a hearing on reclassification was canceled in January.

“If that were to change, and these businesses would be able to actually have capital,” Topper said, “I think that would clear the way for more support.”

In terms of expungement, Pittman, the Senate GOP leader, seemed to take past convictions off the table in any future legalization bill.

“I certainly am not in the mindset that we need to be going back into expungements of convictions that have already occurred,” he said.

Perhaps the longest-standing concern over legalization is public safety. Scott Bohn, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, pointed to greater rates of intoxicated driving in states that permit the drug.

So far, there are not reliable breathalyzers that can detect whether someone is too impaired to drive, though several are being pilot-tested by law enforcement nationally.

Bohn also fears greater adolescent use if the drug becomes more prevalent, noting that today’s marijuana has far higher concentrations of THC, the compound responsible for its psychoactive effects, than a few decades ago.

“I mean, there’s just so many issues, and the only thing we’re talking about is money,” said Bohn.

Democrats counter that marijuana use is already prevalent in Pennsylvania since every neighboring state except West Virginia has legalized the drug.

“The ostrich approach of sort of putting our head in the sand and pretending it’s not happening doesn’t make anyone safer,” said Street.

The two parties are not entirely at odds over how to generate additional revenue in Pennsylvania. There is bipartisan interest in taxing so-called skill games as thousands of unregulated terminals, akin to slot machines, pop up in bars and convenience stores across the commonwealth.

Republicans have scoffed at the 52% tax that Shapiro proposed in his budget address, but there is genuine momentum behind regulating the machines after negotiations fell apart last year.

“I do think it’s an area where we can come together and figure out how to make something there happen,” said Pittman, “and that will invariably drive some revenue to the commonwealth, I’m sure.”

Shapiro estimated the skill games would generate $150 million in the first year if his tax is enacted.

Pennsylvania has a daunting budget shortfall to overcome next year. Right now, the government has some $10 billion in cash reserves, largely in its rainy day fund, but it is running a chronic deficit that will deplete those reserves by 2028.

The Independent Fiscal Office projects deficits of $4.5 billion next year will grow to $6.7 billion by 2030.

Harrisburg found areas of bipartisan cooperation in the last budget, enacting permitting reform and lowering the corporate net income tax.

The General Assembly also authorized $1.1 billion in new school funding, including $526 million to address a 2023 court order that determined the previous education budget was not equitable for poorer districts.

But Topper cited “areas of vast disagreement” that will make the current legislative session a challenge in divided government.

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There isn’t the same appetite for more education dollars, as Shapiro again proposed this year, while Republicans are also weighing ways to slow the growth of its Human Services budget. 

“We’re concerned about the sustainability of these budgets moving forward if we don’t get our economy turned around, and I can tell you, there’s no tax on marijuana that’s going to solve the budget problems that are coming,” said Topper.