https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/09/gov-tom-wolf-calls-for-legalizing-recreational-marijuana-in-pennsylvania.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=pennlive_sfGov. Tom Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman have combined their voices in calling for Pennsylvania to join fully legalize marijuana.
At a Capitol news conference on Wednesday, Wolf, moved beyond his previously stated position of wanting to study the experience of the 11 other states as well as the District of Columbia that have passed marijuana legalization laws and announced it’s time for this state to join them.
He said several legislators “agree with the many Pennsylvanians with making adult-use regulated marijuana use legal – that includes me,” Wolf said. “I agree.”
So do the majority of Pennsylvanians, said Fetterman, who has been a proponent of marijuana legalization. “If you are opposed to the recreational adult use of cannabis that is a minority view now in Pennsylvania,” he said.
Acknowledging it’ll likely take longer to get the General Assembly to go along with legalizing recreational adult-use pot, Wolf and Fetterman urged the General Assembly to immediately pass legislation to decriminalize non-violent and small cannabis-related offenses as well as find a way to expunge past convictions of those who have those kind of offenses on their criminal record.
“This has the potential to affect tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians, many of whom had their lives shattered by a conviction on an action that most Pennsylvanians do not believe is a crime,” the governor said. “Together we can get more Pennsylvanians back to work working across the aisle in this building.”
Beyond all that, Fetterman announced he is directing Brandon Flood, secretary of the Board of Pardons, to aggregate and expedite the pardon process for Pennsylvanians with small amount of and non-violent marijuana convictions and drug paraphernalia convictions on their criminal records.
“In other words, we’ve waived the fee so it doesn’t cost you anything,” Fetterman said. “I would encourage every Pennsylvanian that has one of these charges to apply for a pardon today so we can help you get beyond those small convictions and definitively issue a pardon. This proposal enjoys the full support of the governor, my office and the Board of Pardons, too, to make sure we free Pennsylvanians from this incredible burden that’s unnecessary.”
