HARRISBURG — Legalizing recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania continues to face a “very divided” Republican caucus, a major obstacle as Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro again calls for the state to take action.
Advocates for legal cannabis saw significant action in 2025, including the passage of a bill out of the state House for the first time. Some continue to hope that the need for more revenue to cover rising state spending and pressure during an election year will force lawmakers to address the issue head-on this year.
But advocates are also unsure of the legislature’s likelihood to act, with predictions ranging from cautious optimism to deep skepticism.
“There will be little action in the legislature itself, but a lot more talk about it on the campaign trail,” predicted Chris Goldstein, an advocate with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
During last week’s budget address, Shapiro said the state was “losing out on billions of dollars in revenue," attributing those losses in part to the legislature’s failure to act on adult-use cannabis. All but one of the commonwealth’s neighboring states have legalized recreational cannabis.
Shapiro has included legalization in each of his previous budget pitches, though his administration has increased its revenue estimates. This time, his administration predicts the state would rake in more than $729 million in its first year. Most of that sum, about $660 million, would come from one-time licensing fees.
Once fully implemented, his administration estimates annual tax revenue of more than $200 million.
Republicans who control the state Senate remain noncommittal. Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) said he wants to see the “governor’s words on paper.”
“When the House Democrats passed recreational marijuana last year, and they came up with that crazy plan to have the state stores implemented, we heard nothing from the governor on whether or not he'd even sign the bill,” Pittman told reporters following Shapiro’s budget address.
Last year, the state House voted 102-101 to pass a bill that would permit the sale of cannabis to adults at state-owned stores, similar to the system for selling wine and liquor. All Democrats voted yes, while all Republicans voted no.
Shapiro did not say if he supported or opposed the model, but called the passage an “important step” that would need to go through “some bipartisan compromise.”
State Sen. Dan Laughlin (R., Erie), who chairs the committee through which any legalization bill would likely have to pass, was more direct: He called the state store model “dead on arrival,” and his committee voted it down.
Democrats who control the state House still support legalization, but want Republicans in the upper chamber to make the next move.
Pointing fingers
State Rep. Dan Frankel (D., Allegheny), a sponsor of the state store bill, said his caucus is open to other paths to legalization. But he wants to see the state Senate act so lawmakers can “get to the table and negotiate our differing priorities.”
“There may be different ways to skin the cat, so to speak,” Frankel told reporters after Shapiro’s budget address. “But we need to at least see that in the Senate, there is a willingness and a capacity to pass something.”
Shapiro administration officials told reporters they are open to “any and all options” to legalize cannabis, but want to see a legislative proposal first.
It’s unclear if there’s enough support to advance any cannabis bill in either Laughlin’s committee or the chamber at large, where 27 of the 50 members are Republicans. Spotlight PA spoke with rank-and-file members of Laughlin’s committee last year who said they were not supportive of the move.
Some Republican lawmakers are concerned about the public safety and health impacts of legalizing recreational cannabis, as well as conflicts with federal law. Last week, Frankel told reporters he didn’t think Laughlin could pass a bill out of his committee at the moment, “let alone get it to the floor with Republican leaders refusing to do that.”
Laughlin, who personally supports legalization, acknowledged his caucus is “very divided” on the issue. In October, his committee advanced a bill that would create an oversight board for medical cannabis, and Laughlin said he wants to try to get it passed as the “first true test” for his caucus.
The senator said he believes “there is a path to get it done during the budget negotiations.” The same board would also be charged with regulating recreational cannabis under Laughlin’s separate legalization bill.
He added that members of his caucus may be more convinced if the choice were between raising taxes or legalizing cannabis, saying that he’s a hard no on the former.
“I believe if the legislature as a whole is given a choice between raising taxes or legalizing cannabis, it becomes an 80/20 issue,” Laughlin told Spotlight PA in a written statement.
Shapiro has not proposed any increases for broad-based taxes, such as sales and income levies. Instead, he wants to spend roughly half of the state’s $8 billion rainy day fund.
But lawmakers may face more limited options in the future. The state’s Independent Fiscal Office recently predicted that the savings could run out by the end of the 2027-28 fiscal year without new revenue or spending cuts.
Laughlin said he also wants Shapiro to “roll up his sleeves” to push harder for legalization, saying “all I’ve seen so far is talk.”
“I’ve reached out to the Governor several times to see if he’s willing to meet with me and Senate leadership to discuss this,” he wrote in his statement. “So far, the only thing I’ve seen is a few TikTok videos and social media posts.”
In a statement, a spokesperson from the Shapiro administration said “the failure lies solely with Senate Republican leadership” for refusing “to even consider comprehensive cannabis regulations.”
Why advocates are uncertain, skeptical
Advocates for legalizing cannabis told Spotlight PA they’re not convinced the legislature will act this year, though they feel that lawmakers have gradually become more open to the conversation.
Meredith Buettner Schneider, executive director of the Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition, a trade organization for the industry, pointed to state Senate consideration of cannabis-related legislation, such as Laughlin’s oversight board bill.
“Even if we’re not quite at the conversation of adult-use, the Senate is having conversations about what the regulations look like,” Buettner Schneider said.
After Shapiro’s budget address, her organization renewed its call for adult-use legalization — and also said the state needs to regulate intoxicating hemp products that are sold at gas stations, smoke shops, and online.
Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies at the Marijuana Policy Project, which supports legalizing cannabis, said she’s “cautiously optimistic” that Pennsylvania could pass such a bill this year. O’Keefe said lawmakers “can do it if they have the will,” but it’s a question of whether they would take up the measure.
Goldstein, the advocate with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, is more skeptical.
He argued the legislature’s all-encompassing approach of addressing many aspects of legalization in one bill is slowing down the process. He would prefer the legislature first tackle issues with more consensus, like decriminalizing possession of a small amount of cannabis or clarifying DUI standards for medical marijuana users, which would “take the pressure off the public,” and result in fewer arrests.
(For his part, Laughlin said he would not consider a standalone decriminalization bill, as he believes that it will help “the black market flourish,” but said lawmakers “definitely need to address cannabis DUIs.”)
Goldstein said the legislature is “splitting hairs further and further on this issue,” arguing the lag costs the state money and leads to more people being arrested. He criticized state House Democrats for passing a bill he said they knew would not succeed in the Senate, Senate Republicans for not taking up cannabis legalization, and Shapiro for not pushing both parties harder.
“I think that the lackadaisical approach to this from both parties is really holding us back,” Goldstein said.