AFA of PA ACTION ALERT

July 21, 2025

Issue

Rushing Through the Legalization of Pot

Details

 On May 18th the State House passed HB 1200 by a party line vote of 102-101 – all Democrats ‘aye’ and all GOP ‘nay’.   The bill would allow recreational marijuana to be sold from state-run stores, much like the state liquor stores. 

Republican State Sen. Dan Laughlin, who chairs the Senate Law and Justice Committee, posted on X, saying:  “There is no path forward in the Senate for a state store model for adult-use cannabis.”  That statement didn’t mean he opposes the legalization of pot; he just didn’t like the approach!  So, he and Philly Democrat Sharif Street have introduced SB 120

Here’s a little of what it does:

  • Legalizes pot use for those over 21
  • Penalties for underage use or public consumption
  • Creates a Cannabis Control Board which would oversee licensing, seed-to-sale tracking and public health education.
  • Current medical marijuana permit holders could expand into the adult-use market.

As we’ve said from the beginning of the push to legalize medical marijuana, it would be used as a stepping stone into legalizing ‘recreational’ marijuana.   That has proven to be true not only here in PA, but across the country.  Here are a few problems:

  • In the 1970’s most marijuana contained less than two percent THC, the chemical in pot responsible for its psychoactive effects.  Due to users demands that pot produce a stronger high more quickly,  sophisticated farming and cloning now produces marijuana routinely contains 20 to 25 percent THC!
  • In 2017 after an extensive review, the National Academy of Medicine  found that “cannabis use is likely to increase the risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychosis; the higher the use the greater the risk.”    It also found that “regular cannabis use is likely to increase the risk for developing social anxiety disorder.”
  • In states like Colorado, which legalized pot use in 2012, emergency room doctors have become experts on dealing with marijuana-induced psychosis. 
  • A 2010 review of earlier studies in Schizophrenia Bulletin found that 27 percent of people with schizophrenia had been diagnosed with cannabis use disorder in their lives.  Cannabis also appears to provoke many of them to violence. 
  • Even cannabis advocates acknowledge the drug can cause paranoia, which may fuel violence in psychotic people. 

You get the picture!    Governor Josh Shapiro is all for it because he views it as a new money stream for the PA government, totally ignoring the negative impact to not only the users, but the entire Commonwealth  . . . besides, according to him we have to follow in the footsteps of our neighboring states! 

Action Steps:

Let your State Senator know you oppose the legalization of recreational marijuana. 

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