Bipartisan Pennsylvania senators have introduced a bill that would expand the state’s medical cannabis program by giving patients 21 and older the right to grow their own plants for personal use.
The legislation, filed on Thursday by Sens. Sharif Street (D) and Dan Laughlin (R), along with six other senators, would allow registered patients to cultivate up to six cannabis plants.
Medical marijuana dispensaries would be able to sell cannabis seeds to patients, wh0 could then grow them in their own residence in an enclosed and locked location that’s outside of “ordinary” public view.
If a person doesn’t own their property, they would need to receive permission from the owner to grow marijuana.
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The bill, which has been referred to the Senate Law and Justice Committee, doesn’t appear to set limits on the total number of plants that a household with more than one registered medical cannabis patient could have.
“Since the passage of Act 16 in 2016, Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana (MMJ) program has offered lifesaving medicine to communities across the Commonwealth,” the two senators wrote in a memo seeking cosponsors for the new bill. “However, there are still inefficiencies around MMJ that are well known, especially as it relates to cost and access.”
“The PA Department of Health indicated that patients in some counties must travel more than two hours in order to reach a dispensary,” they said. “This is simply not feasible for many Pennsylvanians. In addition, patients have also been vocal on the fiscal challenges around the rising costs of medicine and affordability.”
“It is critical that policy meet people where they are. By allowing medical marijuana patients to grow cannabis plants at home, we can help ease the cost and accessibility burdens for this important medicine. This legislation would go a long way towards helping everyday Pennsylvanians meet their health needs and ensuring everyone is treated equitably and fairly under Act 16.”
An individual who cultivates more than the allowable number of plants under the bill, or who gives away plants or cannabis products, would be subject to penalties, including the loss of their home grow rights.
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Street and Laughlin also recently unveiled a separate bill to legalize marijuana for adult use.
The two senators previously sponsored a legalization bill that was not ultimately enacted last session, but they say that the newly filed proposal represents a significant improvement that they hope to advance.
In a co-sponsorship memo seeking support for the legalization legislation from colleagues, the senators emphasized that polling shows adult-use legalization “is supported by two-thirds of Pennsylvanians and has majority support in rural, suburban, and urban legislative districts.”
They also pointed out that legalization is estimated to bring in $400 million to $1 billion in tax revenue to the state.
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Meanwhile, in May, Pennsylvania House lawmakers filed separate bills to legalize marijuana sales through state-run stores and to provide permits for farmers and small agriculture businesses to cultivate cannabis once adult-use sales are allowed.
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Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) supports enacting cannabis reform and proposed to legalize and tax adult-use marijuana as part of his 2023-2024 budget request in March.
The prospects of enacting legalization increased in the Keystone State after Democrats took control of the House following last year’s election. Republicans have maintained control of the Senate, however, but there are certain GOP members like Laughlin and Sen. Mike Regan (R) who’ve backed reform.
In February, Laughlin also sent a letter to state law enforcement, urging officials to take steps to protect gun rights for cannabis consumers, particularly medical marijuana patients, in light of a federal court’s recent ruling on the issue.
Street, who is sponsoring the newly filed legalization bill, took some advocates by surprise recently by joining other senators in urging a federal court not to authorize an overdose prevention site site in Philadelphia, while supporting a proposal to ban the harm reduction centers statewide.
Senate Votes To Let People Who’ve Used Marijuana Work At Intelligence Agencies Like CIA And NSA As Part Of Defense Bill
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A suspect in the homicide of a woman in Bensalem, Pennsylvania is in custody at the Trenton Police Department, police said Wednesday afternoon.
The suspect and victim’s identities have not been made public.
The Bensalem, Pennsylvania police and the Buck County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that officers found a woman dead at the Sleep Inn & Suites, on Street Road, early Wednesday. They did not detail the circumstances of her death.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) is warning regional electricity grid operator PJM that the state will consider leaving the organization if it doesn’t do more to protect consumers against soaring power prices.
Shapiro’s letter marks a sharp escalation of his dispute with PJM, the largest U.S. wholesale power market and transmission coordinator, serving 65 million people from the Atlantic Seaboard to Chicago.
The risk of more power price escalation “threatens to undermine public confidence in PJM as an institution,” Shapiro said in his letter to Mark Takahashi, chair of PJM’s board of managers.
In a statement Tuesday, PJM said, “We appreciate the governor’s letter and have reached out to his office to discuss next steps.”
A group of lawmakers, university administrators and the head of the Department of Education heard Tuesday about the possibilities — and perils — of tying public funding of state-related universities at least in part to their performance and students’ academic outcomes.
The Performance-Based Funding Council was created by the General Assembly last summer and tasked with making recommendations on a performance-based funding formula by the end of April. Members include four lawmakers, Interim Acting Secretary of Education Angela Fitterer and three non-voting members from the state-related schools that would be affected: Penn State, Temple University and the University of Pittsburgh. Lincoln University, an HBCU and a fourth state-related university, would not be affected.
Currently, the three state-related schools collectively receive more than $550 million in state funding annually. The move to a performance-based funding formula has been supported by lawmakers from both parties, as well as Gov. Josh Shapiro.
“These legislative hearings offer a unique opportunity to fundamentally reassess how we align public resources and educational outcomes,” said Rep. Jesse Topper (R-Bedford), the council chairperson. “I believe we need to show the public how those resources are used and why — why we invest in higher education.”
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More than 30 states already use a performance-based funding model. According to testimony heard by the council, the most common academic targets in states with performance-based funding models include graduation rates, student retention and degree or credential completion. But a potential formula could also take into account factors like research output, administrative efficiency, and employment rates of graduated students.
While policies vary greatly around the country, about 10% of money sent to four-year schools in states with performance-based funding formulas is based on the targeted metrics, according to testimony by Andrew Smalley, a policy specialist who focuses on higher education at the National Conference of State Legislatures.
But experts warned that coming up with a comprehensive formula can be “daunting.”
“Everyone knows that colleges and universities subject to these formulas find themselves in a bit of a Catch-22,” said Charles Ansell, vice president of research, policy and advocacy at Complete College America, a nonprofit focused on best practices in higher education. “They need funds for their performance and improved graduation rates, but they cannot access funds without demonstrating improvement first.”
One potential solution, another expert testified, could be awarding funds based on improvements at an individual school over time instead of an arbitrary benchmark, like graduation rate, that applies to all schools.
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Experts also warned that some performance-based funding models can exacerbate disparities in educational outcomes between high- and low-income students, and between white and minority students.
“Performance funding is typically tied to advantages for the advantaged students and disadvantages for the disadvantaged,” said Justin Ortagus, an associate professor of higher education administration and policy at the University of Florida. Though he noted that a funding formula can take these pitfalls into account by incentivizing enrollment and degree or certification attainment for students in impacted groups.
Speakers also highlighted the benefits of performance-based funding models. Ortagus noted that they can promote institutional accountability.
It could also provide predictability when it comes to school budgets.
As it stands, Pennsylvania’s method for funding these universities requires a two-thirds vote of the legislature, which has led to months-long delays in the past. Creating a predictable funding formula that would be distributed through the Department of Education would mean future appropriations would only require a simple majority.
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Moreover, lawmakers could use performance metrics to encourage specific educational outcomes. Part of the funding formula, for example, could rely on students enrolling or graduating in programs of study that would lead to them entering high-demand fields in the job market.
The state could also target specific outcomes based on goals like increasing low-income, veteran or minority student graduation rates, encouraging adult education and incentivizing students to enter high-demand jobs by focusing on particular majors. And the formula can be adapted when new needs or issues arise.
“It’s very common for states to revise these frequently,” Smalley said.
The council expects to hold three more hearings, some at the campuses of affected state-related universities. Its recommendations are due to the legislature and governor April 30.
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