The legalization of adult-use (21 and older) marijuana would give Pennsylvania about $580 million from tax revenue.  Legalizing marijuana would open up more jobs, create an increase in the economy, and allow for more research and education opprotunities. Adult-use marijuana should become legal in the state of Pennsylvania.

The criminal justice system can be reformed with the legalization of marijuana. In the state of PA, roughly 20,000 state residents get arrested for a marijuana-related offense per year. According to Pennlive, “If you go over the span of decades we are talking nearly a quarter of a million Pennsylvanians that now have some affiliation with the criminal justice system for nothing more than consuming a plant that’s actually legal in 12 jurisdictions across this country,” John Fetterman, lieutenant governor said. This act can help less residents of PA be arrested for using marijuana recreationally.

Governor Tom Wolf beliefs that if the legislature legalizes the use of marijuana it will help our economy. Governor Wolf wants to use the tax revenue from the marijuana to go and put it towards small businesses to help them recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, front-line workers, and working parents. 

According to the York Daily Record,“The government could fund these efforts with the $1.3 billion it has left from federal coronavirus stimulus relief and from the revenue from legalization of recreational marijuana” states Governor Wolf. 

If marijuana does become legal in our state, it can benefit and help everyone recover from the economic downfall that the pandemic caused. 

Legalizing marijuana does more than just helping with the economy, it also will improve the wellbeing of many people across the state who are suffering from a mental illness or a type of physical disability. 

Marijuana itself can help with preventing seizures, shrinking tumors, and calming the nervous system which helps with diseases like Parkinson’s and MS. Along with helping physical illnesses it also helps with mental illness. Marijuana helps with most mental disorders like depression, anxiety, and PTSD, according to Cannabis Industry Journal.

The benefits that legalizing marijuana for adult-usage in Pennsylvania can give is more than just recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic (economy wise), it can give a lot of residents a piece of mind. It can save people suffering with diseases like Parkinson’s or MS money from the expense of having to purchase prescription medications to help their pain along with people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness like anxiety.

If you want to help the state of PA get marijuana legalized for recreational use, you can sign a petition on The PA House of Reps website.