Marijuana is legal in Pennsylvania. Kind of. Except not really.
The twisting vines of what is and isn’t OK in the Keystone State have been growing like weeds since 2016. That was when the state legalized medical marijuana. It was broadly bipartisan. In a senate that has been solidly in Republican hands for years, only seven of 49 votes opposed.
The timeline mirrored the acceptance of CBD or cannabidiol products — a hemp-derived product related to marijuana but without the same intoxicating effects. A 2018 federal law legalized hemp, which had been barred from production for decades. With that, CBD oil — in low concentrations — began appearing in everything from lip gloss to lotion to lollipops.
But does that mean there’s a cannabis free-for-all in Pennsylvania. Absolutely not.
State leaders like former Gov. Tom Wolf and U.S. Sen. John Fetterman have been vocally in favor or expanding access. Gov. Josh Shapiro told TribLive he intends to include legalizing recreational marijuana in his 2025 budget proposal. State Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Squirrel Hill, plans to introduce a legalization bill in January.
That doesn’t change the fact that federally, marijuana is still an issue. While the Biden administration has moved to change marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance, in effect de-escalating its seriousness, that’s not a done deal. That requires more work, which could be continued by the Trump administration. There also needs to be additional related work to make the business more businesslike, including allowing it to utilize banks.
If Pennsylvania leaders want to make marijuana legal, they should have been passing laws proactively addressing problems.
Among those are the CBD products that have become ubiquitous at convenience stores, vape shops and more. The broad availability blurs the lines between what is a drug and what is a candy. Delta 8 edibles, for example, are branded a Schedule 1 substance but still openly sold and frequently finding their way into the hands of children.
Wine coolers and other alcohol beverages have been criticized for packaging that makes them look like soda. Cigarettes had to ditch cartoon advertising. Vaping faced harsh backlash for flavoring that took nicotine and gave it kid-centric flavors and scents.
Pennsylvania should be taking steps to address the products that already have mushroomed across the state before taking steps to make it even more commonly available.
