Like alcohol prohibition a century ago, cannabis prohibition has failed. It wastes taxpayer dollars, perpetuates racial disparities, puts consumers at risk, and locks people up for minor offenses in overcrowded jails and prisons. Legalizing and regulating cannabis for adults 21 and older grows the economy, increases freedom, and promotes health and safety.
Prohibition ruins lives.
- Pennsylvania’s cannabis laws needlessly ensnare around 10,000 people in its criminal justice system every year.
- Possession of even the smallest amount of cannabis is a misdemeanor under state law, carrying up to 30-days in jail.
- Cannabis arrests can cause people to lose their jobs, career paths, and housing. Even years after sentences are complete, cannabis records close the door of opportunity.
- An ACLU analysis of government data shows Black people in Pennsylvania are three times as likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white people, despite similar cannabis use rates.
Legalization grows the economy and tax revenue.
- Federal funds for Pennsylvania have unfortunately become unpredictable, and the economy has begun a downturn.
- Legalization within Pennsylvania would generate hundreds of millions in new tax revenue each year to support its residents’ wellbeing. That money is now going to neighboring states’ coffers.
- Michigan — which has a smaller population than Pennsylvania — generated $520 million in adult-use cannabis excise and sales tax revenue in 2024 alone.
Legalization allows for regulation and control.
- Prohibition makes control impossible. Unregulated cannabis is often contaminated by molds, hazardous pesticides, and heavy metals. It is sometimes even laced with fentanyl.
- Legalization allows for sensible regulations: requiring licensees to check IDs, lab testing, banning dangerous pesticides and additives, and mandating child-proof packaging.
- When cannabis is illegal, youth have easy access. Illicit sellers have no reason to check IDs, and youth are often recruited to sell illicit cannabis.
- In legal states, compliance checks show ID card requirements are working.
- Government surveys show youth cannabis use rates dropped post-legalization in 19 out of 21 states with before-and-after data.
Adults shouldn’t be criminalized for a plant that is less harmful than alcohol.
- Cannabis is far less toxic, less addictive, and less harmful to the body than alcohol. While the CDC attributes 117,000 deaths per year to the chronic effects of alcohol, cannabis has not been shown to increase all-cause mortality.
- It is hypocritical and irrational to punish adults for the safer substance, which many use as an over-the counter medicine for pain or to sleep.
Legalization moves sales above ground so consumers can buy a regulated product and workers don’t face felonies. Instead of tearing apart families and pouring millions of tax dollars down the drain, Pennsylvania should legalize and regulate cannabis and invest the proceeds into its residents’ wellbeing.
