A Pennsylvania House subcommittee will meet Thursday to discuss how potential cannabis legislation could advance equity and social justice in the face of the drug war’s disproportionate impact on minority communities. It was investigated.
“The clear priorities you heard in yesterday’s subcommittee address issues of social equity and restorative justice, particularly for the communities most disadvantaged by the criminal justice system.” said Representative Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny). Subcommittee on Health Care of the House Committee on Health.
On Friday morning, House Democrats, who hold a one-vote majority and therefore control which bills come to the floor, held a debate on what a bill aimed at legalizing marijuana would look like. To get started, we held our first full caucus meeting.
“My hope and expectation is that within the next few months, we’ll see a bill introduced based on the hearings we had in the Health Committee (this subcommittee),” Frankel told the Capital Star. . There may be one or two members who have a problem with that, but I think there’s a clear and overwhelming consensus within the Democratic caucus.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro has expressed support for legalizing marijuana in Pennsylvania, and his latest budget includes potential revenue from taxes on marijuana. In the Senate, legalization bill The idea is being sponsored by Republican Sen. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) and a handful of Democratic sponsors.Ann same bill The bill was introduced in the House on Tuesday by Rep. Armen Brown, D-Philadelphia, along with all Democratic sponsors.
Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro proposes $48 billion budget focused on education, economy and people
Among those testifying Thursday was Tahir Johnson, 40, of New Jersey, who was one of the first licensees to open a recreational marijuana dispensary in the state. Before legalization, Johnson had been arrested three times on marijuana-related charges.
“I saw something that harmed me and my family and so many people I know, and now I’m building a business around it,” Johnson told the Capital Star. It’s great that it’s going up,” he said. “Just doing something like this in my community, knowing that it gives people a sense of pride and leading by example as one of the first people to get a license and do this.” It’s great to know that.”
When Johnson applied to open a pharmacy in New Jersey, he received what’s called a “social equity” credential. This status is given to minority business owners and those previously charged with cannabis-related crimes, and their applications will be prioritized.
The goal of social equity is to ensure that the people and communities most affected by the drug war have sufficient opportunities to enter new business areas on the ground floor. Black Americans like Johnson are far more likely to be arrested for marijuana-related crimes than white Americans. Many studies have proven.
But as Johnson and others attested, social equity programs like New Jersey’s don’t always have their intended effects. Mr Johnson said he had to jump through many hoops to obtain funding and the regulatory process for pharmacies was onerous. His license was approved two years ago, but the pharmacy has not yet opened.
Laurie Lucien, a Massachusetts cannabis business owner and law professor at Suffolk University in Boston, told the committee that Pennsylvania should learn from her state’s mistakes.
Although Massachusetts has a social equity program similar to New Jersey, many qualified executive candidates have less access to capital and relevant business experience compared to venture capital investors and large corporations. Many of them already operate pharmacies in the following states: It’s legal. Additionally, many banks are reluctant to lend to companies that sell products that are still illegal by the federal government.
And in Massachusetts, would-be entrepreneurs must own the real estate for the pharmacy throughout the application process, which can take years, Lucian said.
Largely because of these hurdles, the cannabis business in Massachusetts remains predominantly white, Lucien said.
He proposed not allowing non-equity businesses to open until equity candidates are funded. He also proposed legislation that would prohibit the sale of social equity licenses to non-equity candidates for a period of time after initial legalization to prevent monopolies from buying up social equity licenses.
Johnson acknowledged that he supports policies introduced in New Jersey that allow equity candidates to obtain conditional licenses before meeting certain funding barriers, making it easier to find investors.
“When we have these conversations, it often feels like we’re doing charity work, but that’s not what we’re doing,” Lucien told the committee. “Restorative justice is about correcting mistakes made in enforcing marijuana laws that have disproportionately affected certain communities and certain people.”
Lawmakers on the committee expressed skepticism that any legislation could have the desired effect on ensuring fairness in the cannabis industry, given the challenges faced by other states.
“We’re hearing from every state, ‘Don’t make the same mistakes that we’ve made,’ but every state has made some mistakes,” Rep. Paul Schemel (R-Franklin) told the committee. It seems so.” “I don’t see a way out of it.”
Schemel and other Republicans on the subcommittee also unanimously expressed concern about the public health impact of marijuana legalization.
Retired Judge Sheryl Lynn Allen currently serves as a consultant to the Pennsylvania Family Institute, a subsidiary of the Family Research Council, a pro-life national think tank. Deemed a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center for his anti-LGBTQ stances — and spoke about these concerns during committee meetings.
“The rise in cannabis use is not only having a negative impact on young people, but on society as a whole,” Allen told the committee. “So why promote such an industry and call it social equity?”
But legalization supporters, including members of the subcommittee, disagree.
“The fact is that we have an environment where there is a vibrant illicit market,” Frankel told the committee. Legalization would not only ensure that all marijuana products are regulated, but would also end discriminatory enforcement of cannabis-related criminal penalties, he added.
“For many of us, including the participants on this panel, we think on a bipartisan basis that restorative justice, the social justice piece, and decriminalization are important aspects of this conversation,” Frankel said.
The Medical Subcommittee will meet again on April 25th.
