Pa. may have change in air on marijuana

There’s growing momentum for changes in Pennsylvania’s marijuana laws. Will lawmakers in Harrisburg take heed?

The most recent developments come in the wake of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s 67-county listening tour on the issue. He issued a report detailing its results. Out of 44,407 Pennsylvania residents who shared their opinion on marijuana legalization, 82% of them favored legalization.

Even if one views Fetterman’s tour as a publicity stunt or that he went into this endeavor expecting this kind of result, the numbers are difficult to dismiss. The fact is that at each of these meetings folks who oppose legalization had an opportunity to express that view. Few did.

In response to the results, Gov. Tom Wolf announced a call for three actions:

First, he said, he is asking the Legislature to get a bill on his desk as soon as possible to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana for nonviolent offenders. Such a bill would change the offense from a misdemeanor to a summary offense.

Wolf is calling for the criminal records of people convicted of nonviolent possession crimes to be expunged.

He said that move has “the potential to affect tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians, many of whom have had their lives shattered” over something that most Pennsylvanians don’t think is a crime.

The third and most difficult step the governor wants is getting lawmakers to engage in a serious debate over legalizing recreational use of marijuana.

We’ll focus on Wolf’s first two ideas first, as they should be easier to achieve than full legalization.

Even if cannabis remains illegal, it is a foolish waste of resources to lock so many people up and leave them with criminal records over something most Pennsylvanians regard as a trivial offense at worst. People caught with small amounts of the drug and who are not alleged to be involved with violent activities should not face severe punishment.

As for legalization, we believe it certainly is time to seriously discuss the issue. We respect lawmakers, prosecutors and others who have concerns about the impact of such a move.

With that in mind, we acknowledge that it must be taken slowly. But all concerned should remember that there are good reasons why so many people favor the idea.

More folks are recognizing that there’s no evidence marijuana is any more dangerous than legal substances such as alcohol and tobacco. An estimated 88,000 people die each year in the United States due to causes related to alcohol use. Cigarette smoking is linked to more than 480,000 deaths per year. Yet there’s no serious talk of prohibition of those products. Instead, they are subject to regulation accompanied by education regarding the potential dangers of their use or misuse.

Many people claim that marijuana use leads people to try other, more dangerous drugs. But the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that’s not true in most cases.

Legalization would offer the additional benefit of regulating the drug so that it’s safer to use. Revenue from a tax on marijuana would be helpful as well, though that should not be the principal argument for legalization.

We recognize that any legalization proposal will have to deal with some difficult factors.

How does law enforcement measure impairment when there’s no reliable test? What steps will be taken to ensure the drug is kept out of the hands of children?

How would this jibe with the federal prohibition on marijuana?

The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, a laborlinked think tank, offers some interesting ideas on legalization that deserve consideration. It issued a report that found legalization would create jobs, reduce the number of individuals arrested for marijuana offenses, decrease criminal justice costs, increase tourism and raise an estimated $581 million in revenue for the state.

The report suggests using state liquor stores for distribution, since they already are set up to sell controlled substances, ensure youths don’t have access to them and promoting responsible use of their products.

The group’s report certainly doesn’t contain all the answers, but it’s a starting point.

And it’s time to get started on this difficult conversation.