Pennsylvania plans to legalize and tax recreational cannabis

Josh Shapiro D proposed legalizing and taxing recreational cannabis as part of his 2023 -- 2024 budget request.

The government budget, estimated at $188 million, in annual cannabis revenue by 2028, proposes to impose a 20 percent tax on the wholesale price of cannabis products sold through the regulated framework of the production and sales system. Assuming sales begin on January 1, 2025, the budget estimates that the state will generate about $64 million in 2026, $132.6 million in 2027 and $188 million in 2028, per Marijuana Moment, the first news media outlet to report it.

The executive document does not include any proposed marijuana policy changes.

A PA measure is trying to regulate cannabis. The bill would create a legal and regulatory framework that regulates the cultivation, processing, transportation, distribution, delivery, and sale of cannabis and cannabis products with the following central goals in mind: consumer safety, social justice, economic equity, prevention of substance use disorder, and revenue. A spokesman for the PA House wants to sell cannabis in state liquor stores, restricting possession and use to adults 21 and older. In HB 1180, sponsored by Rep. David M. Delloso, the legislation would allow private companies to sell cannabis across the state, allowing large corporations to take over the cannabis industry by putting profits before the well-being of communities. The legislation would allow people to grow up to six plants and remove low-level cannabis convictions.

State legislators are looking to allow farmers to grow medical marijuana. Melissa Shusterman and Ismail Smith-Wade El recently revealed in a memo that they intend to introduce a measure that would allow new producers to enter the space. Farmers and other small agricultural businesses would be able to apply for medical marijuana to grow and sell medical marijuana to growers and processors already operating in PA.

A federal court in Pennsylvania ruled in favor of FarmaceuticalRX's former delivery drivers, who claim the company with operations in PA and OH misclassified them as independent contractors and denied overtime wages, and they should have been considered full-time workers, per MjBizDaily. According to Law 360, U.S. District Judge William Stickman denied the MMJ producer and its affiliates motion for dismissal of claims filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act.

FARMACEUTICALRX has closed a $34 million senior secured term loan provided by Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc., REFI, a commercial real estate finance company, and other institutional lenders.

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