Pennsylvania's Senate Law & Justice Committee voted 7-4 Monday to advance SB 49 for the third time since October, each round bringing revisions from sponsor and chair Sen. Dan Laughlin (R).
The bill establishes a Cannabis Control Board (CCB) to regulate Pennsylvania's medical marijuana program and intoxicating hemp products, with authority to potentially oversee adult-use cannabis if legalization is enacted.
Two amendments passed Monday. Laughlin's specifies that the three governor-appointed CCB members must have backgrounds in law enforcement, addiction, and cannabis matters, and bars the board from authorizing recreational marijuana without General Assembly approval. Sen. Devlin Robinson (R) added a provision allowing additional dispensary permits for companies that were medical cannabis grower/processors before April 12, 2024 and meet other conditions.
In March, the committee added provisions banning most hemp THC products to align with a federal policy change taking effect in November. All four Democratic cosponsors voted against the bill Monday without explanation.
"For too long, intoxicating hemp products, or 'gas station weed,' have been sold with virtually no oversight and far too few safeguards," Laughlin said. "Moving this bill out of committee puts us on the path to finally bringing order and accountability to this space."
The bill advances amid a partisan dispute over broader legalization. Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) has repeatedly called for legalization in budget requests; the Democratic House last year passed a bill to legalize through state-owned dispensaries and last month passed a budget incorporating projected cannabis revenue. The Republican Senate has not advanced a legalization model.
Republican gubernatorial candidate and state treasurer Stacy Garrity said she would veto any legalization bill, predicting the legislature is "never going to pass it…not as long as Senate Republicans are in control of the Senate."
A recent poll found 69 percent of Pennsylvania likely voters support adult-use legalization—72 percent of Democrats, 67 percent of Republicans, and 64 percent of independents. The state's Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) projects revenue of $140 million in 2027–2028, rising to $432 million by 2030–2031, under a 20 percent wholesale excise tax and 6 percent state sales tax; the governor's office estimates $36.9 million in year one, reaching $223.8 million by 2030–2031, and Shapiro has cited a $1.3 billion total over five years. The House Health Committee separately approved a bill last month to allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis in hospitals.
