A Pennsylvania Democratic senator has announced his intent to file a new bill to legalize marijuana in the state, calling on colleagues to join him on the measure days after a Senate committee killed a separate House-passed proposal to enact cannabis legalization with state-run stores.
In a cosponsorship memo circulated last week, Sen. Marty Flynn (D) said his bill would establish a “responsible framework for cultivation, distribution, and retail sales to adults aged 21 and over,” indicating that the legislation will follow a more conventional regulatory model for cannabis.
“This legislation represents a commonsense opportunity to modernize our cannabis laws by delivering lasting economic benefits to communities across the Commonwealth while balancing individual liberty with public safety,” he said of the bill, which will be called the Keystone Cannabis Act.
Notably, Flynn put out an earlier cosponsorship memo in 2022 that detailed a bill he said he’d be introducing that would have sought to legalize marijuana through a state-run model, similar to the legislation that narrowly advanced through the House only to be rejected in a Senate committee last week.
The new memo signals his forthcoming legislation will steer clear of the controversial proposal, placing regulatory responsibility in the hands of the state Departments of Health, Agriculture and Community and Economic Development, as well as the attorney general and state police.
It would also create a Commonwealth Community Reinvestment and Infrastructure Fund, using marijuana tax revenue—which Flynn estimates will be upwards of $500 million annually—to support the revitalization of rural areas, infrastructure initiatives and local grants for “law enforcement, public health, and educational programs focused on substance use prevention and mental health.”
There would also be equity components embedded in the measure, including provisions that would prioritize cannabis business licensing for those from communities disproportionately impacted by prohibition and creating a pathway for expunging past marijuana records.
Hellbound and Down 