Wow! Many voters in Pennsylvania want to legalize marijuana

Through Jelena Martinovic

According to a recent CBS News poll showing that 66% of registered voters support cannabis policy reform while 34% oppose it, the majority of Pennsylvanians want recreational marijuana legalized.

Rep. Amen Brown (D), who previously announced his intention to introduce a reform bill he will work on with fellow GOP Sen. Mike Regan (R), said legalizing recreational marijuana is “just the right thing to do is doing.”

“Education, after-school programs, affordable housing, things like that and investing that money, creating jobs and supporting communities that have been hardest hit by the ban,” Brown continued.

But despite the support marijuana has among Pennsylvania voters, cannabis laws in the state of Keystone remain strict. A recent report by the Marijuana Policy Project revealed that Pennsylvania is one of 19 US states that criminalize marijuana possession with possible incarceration and a criminal record.

RELATED: Criminalizing Weed Is a Waste of Resources, Pennsylvania AG Says Ahead of Upcoming Election

Photo by FatCamera/Getty Images

In 2021, 12,439 adults and 1,057 juveniles were arrested for simple cannabis possession, Pennsylvania State Police data showed. Although the numbers represent a 30% drop between 2020 and 2021, they remain high.

Lawmakers are pushing for a change in policy

While the latest push for policy change at the state level came from Senator Chris Gebhard, who said in a recent co-sponsorship memo that the measure he is planning would establish a new licensing regime under which “independent” cannabis growers/processors would operate operating in Keystone State are allowed to open pharmacies as vertically integrated companies, efforts by Lt. gov. PA’s John Fetterman aim to change federal policy.

RELATED: Biden weighs cannabis during meeting with PA Senate nominee Fetterman

Fetterman (D), who is running for a Senate seat, recently urged President Biden to remove marijuana from a Schedule I drug and work to decriminalize it. Shortly thereafter, the two politicians crossed paths in Pittsburgh and discussed possible changes to the status of cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act before his speech in a union hall on Labor Day.

However, it appears Biden will remain silent on the issue, at least ahead of the midterm elections, according to a recent statement by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

“I have nothing further to share in the coming weeks,” Jean-Pierre said Friday during a press briefing aboard Air Force One.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.