Tom Wolf, the Governor of Pennsylvania, now numbers himself among Pennsylvanians who stand in favor of legalizing recreational cannabis. It took some time for Gov. Wolf to come around to this position, and the efforts of his Lt. Governor, John Fetterman, are largely to thank for evolution on the issue of legal marijuana.
On Wednesday, Wolf held a press conference announcing his office’s publication of the report on Lt. Gov. Fetterman’s statewide cannabis listening tour. That report showed significant majority support for recreational legalization among those who attended listening tour events, as well as residents who weighed in online. As a result, Gov. Wolf said that he now supports legislative efforts to make recreational cannabis use legal. And he’s calling on lawmakers to draft a bill that puts criminal justice reforms at the heart of the state’s plan to legalize weed.
Listening Tour Report Persuades Gov. Wolf to Support Recreational Legalization
Public officials in Pennsylvania began 2019 with some serious momentum toward legalizing recreational cannabis. In addition to an early 2019 poll placing pro-legalizing support at 59 percent among Pennsylvania voters and an overwhelming show of support for legalization among attendees of Fetterman’s listening tour events—with one county offering unanimous support—Pennsylvania senators introduced a bill in March, SB 350, to legalize adult cannabis use.
That bill included many provisions to address disparities in cannabis law enforcement and earmark tax revenue for schools and other public services. Specifically, SB 350 would have not just expunged criminal records for non-violent cannabis convictions and halt any pending marijuana cases, it also would have commuted the sentence of anyone currently behind bars for misdemeanor marijuana offenses.
At the time, however, Gov. Tom