A marijuana legalization bill being developed by two Pennsylvania lawmakers will promote using existing state-run liquor stores as the backbone for an adult-use cannabis industry in the years to come.
The proposal from state Reps. Rick Krajewski (D-Philadelphia) and Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny) would make Pennsylvania an outlier among the 24 states that already have passed laws creating private-sector markets for recreational marijuana. The two lawmakers circulated a memo this month seeking co-sponsors for their bill, which would decriminalize marijuana and reinvest retail revenue in a range of restorative justice programs.
"The way that we are thinking through legislation is you have a state store system as a means of primary retail, but you also have opportunities for small business retail as well," Krajewski said. "Basically, it's a hybrid proposal. It's not just state stores."
The approach calls for putting marijuana under the umbrella of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, a move that could make cannabis available to purchase at Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores across the state. Krajewski called the concept "preliminary" and said many of its finer details still need to be developed, including how the private market would coexist with state stores. In a mixed model, the goal would be to steer more resources toward social equity in ways some states have struggled to achieve with their programs.
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