Local Legislature Plans to Introduce Bill to Legalize and Decriminalize Cannabis for Adults – WPXI

PENNSYLVANIA — A Pennsylvania lawmaker plans to introduce a bill that would essentially legalize recreational marijuana and decriminalize it.

Recreational marijuana is illegal in the state, but many people, including Quinn Marshall, believe people have been unfairly punished and put behind bars for using it.

“I know there are a lot of people in prison right now for small crimes and little things that have to do with it, and I don’t think it should be that serious of a crime or misdemeanor or even illegal,” Marshall said.

That’s what Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny) is trying to do. He is co-sponsoring a bill with Rep. Rick Krajewski (D-Philadelphia) that would regulate and decriminalize recreational weed so that a person is not charged if they are caught with it.

Frankel said the state needs to keep pace with the rest of the region and legalize cannabis for adults. He said his legislation would eliminate decades of injustice.

“So many people have been subjected to an adverse criminal justice system for so many decades that has incarcerated and punished so many people and, in many cases, continues to impair their ability to be productive citizens today,” Frankel said.

The bill would require the expungement of marijuana-related criminal records. It would also create a framework for legal recreational markets that would generate tax revenue. This money would then be invested in communities that have been historically harmed by the war on drugs, particularly Black communities.

“Any type of tax revenue that we ultimately get from adult use can be reinvested into these communities to provide opportunities for people,” Frankel said.

Marshall can agree to this part of the bill.

“If the money can go back into the community, why wouldn’t that be a good thing for people?” Marshall said.

Frankel said there is bipartisan support in both chambers for the legislation to move forward.

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