Two Pennsylvania legislative panels held a joint hearing to discuss marijuana legalization Thursday, and several lawmakers asked the state’s top liquor regulator about the prospect of that agency running cannabis stores.

Members of the House Health Committee and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Committee heard testimony from a number of experts who also discussed topics such as drunk driving, workplace drug policies, and the need to carry out product tests in a legal market.

Rep. Dan Frankel (D), chair of the Health Committee, previously raised the possibility of pursuing legalization through a state model similar to what Pennsylvania currently has for alcohol. Several legislators took the opportunity to ask the executive director of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB), Rodrigo Díaz, about that concept in this latest hearing.

He was asked about PLCB’s ability to manage enhanced identification checks, security, tax collection product approvals and more. Diaz noted that the board would find a way to address the various concerns, but stressed that “we don’t advocate, we will do what you tell us.”

“However, what we are asking you is to be aware of these issues that you are raising and address them so that we don’t make them up,” he said, adding that regulators want “clear guidance on how they want us to address those types of issues.” ”.

Frankel also said at the hearing that the panel has “struggled” with how to address the issue of workplace safety and ensure that any future policies “create an environment where people are safe and are not unfairly accused of being impaired.” .

Another witness, Ryan Vandrey, a professor of behavioral pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University, explained to the committee alternatives to urine or blood drug testing, including testing for cognitive impairment. He also responded to another member’s question about how legalization could mitigate the prevalence of unregulated products on the market.

“That is one of the strongest arguments for broader legalization of regulated cannabis products, because there has been a proliferation of unregulated cannabinoid products that are essentially the same and, in some cases, even stronger or more harmful than the delta-9 THC,” he said. .

“I don’t think they would completely disappear and still exist as a market, but the market would be much smaller,” Vandrey said. “Research has shown that that has happened: that those products are much less available and less likely to be used in states where adult-use cannabis has been legalized.”

Frankel said in his closing remarks that the hearing “helped educate us in a very meaningful way, and we are taking this seriously as we develop legislation to look at adult use.”

This was the latest in a series of legalization hearings in the Keystone State, although they are typically called by the House Health Care Subcommittee. About two weeks ago, members of that panel held a conversation focused on social justice and equity considerations for reform.

That came days after Rep. Amen Brown (D) introduced a marijuana legalization bill that he described as “based on safety and social equity.”

At a previous meeting last month, members focused on the criminal justice implications of the ban and the potential benefits of reform.

At another hearing in February, members discussed the industry’s outlook, with multiple stakeholders from cannabis cultivation, dispensing and testing companies, as well as clinical registrants, testifying.

At the cannabis subcommittee’s previous meeting in December, members heard testimony and asked questions about various elements of marijuana oversight, including promoting social equity and business opportunities, laboratory testing, and public versus private operation of a state-legal cannabis industry.

And during the panel’s first meeting late last year, Frankel said state stores are “certainly an option” he’s considering for Pennsylvania, similar to what New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) recommended for that state last year, although a state commission later avoided that plan.

Meanwhile, the cannabis proposal Brown introduced in the House this month is identical to a bipartisan cannabis legalization measure in the Senate that was introduced last year.

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While Pennsylvania lawmakers have introduced legalization bills in the past, it’s unclear which one could serve as a vehicle for reform this year.

Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) once again proposed legalization as part of his budget request in February, seeking to establish a system that would be implemented starting this summer. But while he suggested certain parameters, such as having the Department of Agriculture regulate the program, there is no legislative text yet.

Last month, the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released a report that found the state could generate $271 million in annual revenue if marijuana is legalized and taxed under the governor’s proposal, but it would have been more if the state had not been overtaken by other neighboring states that have already enacted the reform.

Meanwhile, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jordan Harris (D) said in a recent interview that “it’s time” to legalize marijuana and lay the groundwork for businesses in the state to export cannabis to others. markets if federal law changes, and sees a “real opportunity” to do so.

However, the committee’s minority chairman, Rep. Seth Grove (R), said he has doubts that the Democratic-controlled House can craft and pass legalization legislation that can advance in the Republican-majority Senate.

Pennsylvania lawmakers also recently introduced a pair of bills aimed at preventing police from charging medical cannabis patients with driving under the influence without proof of intoxication.

A Republican senator in Pennsylvania last week introduced a bill aimed at removing state barriers to medical marijuana patients carrying firearms after reviewing the legislation and soliciting cosponsors earlier this year.

In December, the governor signed a bill to allow all state-licensed medical marijuana grower-processors to act as retailers and sell their cannabis products directly to patients. Independent dispensaries could also start growing their own marijuana.

A poll released in February found that about two-thirds of Pennsylvania voters in the state support legalizing marijuana.

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