Bipartisan Approach to Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization in Pennsylvania
On this week’s podcast, we talk to the two Pennsylvania state senators who announced a bill that would legalize adult use cannabis in the state. Senators Sharif Street and Daniel Laughlin, a Democrat and Republican respectively, said the bill prioritizes safety, social equity and agriculture.
The senators say cannabis reform is attractive to both sides of the political spectrum: economic and libertarian concerns on the right, and social equity and environmental concerns on the left. But what would it look like for prospective growers?
“Under our bill the initial rollout would be 100 micro-cultivation centers that would be licensed, and then the following year there would be another 50, and then after that it would kind of be a supply and demand. If those growers can’t keep up with the demand, the cannabis board we intend to create with this bill would be allowed to issue more licenses on an as-needed basis,” says Laughlin.
What those cultivation centers would look like is still an open question, but some kind of high tunnel structure would most likely fit the bill.
“You wouldn’t necessarily have to build an expensive building. We’re trying to find a sweet spot to have the right kind of protections, both agricultural protections to make sure there isn’t cross pollination,” says Street. “There are some security concerns around cannabis. But the idea is to try and do it in a way that protects the public safety and keeps it affordable for farmers.”
Links
PA Senator Sharif Street
http://www.senatorsharifstreet.com/
PA Senator Daniel Laughlin
https://www.senatorlaughlin.com/
Pennsylvania State Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
News Nuggets
Industrial Hemp Legalization Bill Moves To Idaho House
New York Times: This Drug Gets You High, and Is Legal (Maybe) Across the Country
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/27/health/marijuana-hemp-delta-8-thc.html
US: First application for hemp as feed for poultry
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