Budget Battles Stall Pennsylvania’s Push for Cannabis Legalization

Published: 2 April 2025

Updated: 29 August 2025

Marijuana legalization is officially on the table in Pennsylvania's 2025–2026 budget discussions, as top Democratic leaders, including House Speaker Joanna McClinton and Governor Josh Shapiro, push to finally establish a legal adult-use cannabis market.

This push, however, has become entangled in a broader state budget standoff. Nearly two months past its deadline, Pennsylvania’s 2025 budget remains stalled as Republicans and Democrats clash over fiscal priorities. Cannabis legalization, once framed as a straightforward economic opportunity, has instead become a central flashpoint in partisan disputes.

At a recent policy event, Speaker McClinton confirmed that cannabis legalization is a key component of Governor Shapiro’s proposed budget plan. Framing it as a "new economic opportunity" that could benefit industries from agriculture to retail, McClinton emphasized the need to recapture tax revenue currently flowing to neighboring states like New Jersey, Maryland, and New York—where adult-use cannabis is already legal and thriving.

Republican critics have challenged Shapiro’s framing. State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, now a declared candidate for the 2026 GOP gubernatorial nomination, dismissed the governor’s projected $536.5 million in first-year cannabis revenues as “way, way overstated.” She pointed to neighboring Ohio, where officials estimate only $115 million in comparable revenue.

Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program, legalized in 2016, has generated over $6 billion in sales, proving the state’s appetite for a regulated cannabis market. But without adult-use legalization, residents continue crossing state lines or turning to the illicit market—costing Pennsylvania millions in potential tax revenue and missing out on safer, regulated consumer access.

Who Is Affected — and How:

• Pennsylvania Residents and Consumers: Polling shows broad bipartisan support for legalization, yet political gridlock has kept reforms stalled. House Democrats passed a bill earlier this year to establish a state-run retail model, but the GOP-controlled Senate rejected it outright. Alternative bipartisan bills proposing privately licensed stores remain pending.

• Medical Marijuana Patients: Patients could benefit from expanded product options and competitive pricing if adult-use sales support wider market growth and investment.

• The Cannabis Industry: Entrepreneurs and investors remain in a holding pattern. Multiple legislative proposals from both parties, including efforts from Sen. Sharif Street (D) and Sen. Dan Laughlin (R), would open the market, but Republican leaders in the Senate (Majority Leader Joe Pittman and Appropriations Chair Scott Martin) have refused to advance them.

• The State Budget and Economy: Governor Shapiro’s budget continues to rely on cannabis revenue projections, but Republicans remain deeply skeptical. Treasurer Garrity has argued that Shapiro’s estimates are inflated. Meanwhile, Democrats in the House remain split between a state-run model, modeled on Pennsylvania’s liquor stores, and privately licensed systems favored in bipartisan Senate bills.

• Lawmakers and Political Landscape: That optimism has dimmed as the state budget impasse drags on. Governor Shapiro has accused GOP leaders of deliberately stalling negotiations to weaken him ahead of the 2026 election. Republicans, rallying behind Treasurer Garrity, have used cannabis revenue as a symbol of what they call unrealistic Democratic budgeting.

While some Republican lawmakers such as Sen. Dan Laughlin remain open to legalization, Senate leadership shows little appetite for advancing reform this year. Advocates now warn that significant movement may not occur until after the 2026 gubernatorial race reshapes the state’s political balance.