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vaxinate t1_ivs7pfc wrote

Reply to comment by ILikeMyGrassBlue in Real talk… can we make recreational weed legal now? by the_mandateofheaven

I think Democrats taking the house dramatically speeds up the timeline.

Democratic reps will have more leverage since they can effectively block anything Republicans want to do with control of the Gov’s seat and House. The majority of our neighboring states will have legal cannabis within the next 18 months or sooner, giving a huge percentage of residents access in neighboring states. If Democrats pass a bill through the house with bipartisan support (they will definitely find at least a few GOP votes since there are a few on record supporting it), and the governor says he’s going to sign it, it seems like the Republicans in the Senate will look pretty stupid if they refuse and let all that revenue go to other states.

You’re right though, It does ultimately come down to how much GOP state reps are willing to hold their breath, do nothing and hope for a more positive election cycle in 2024. I am new to the state and don’t know exactly how petty republicans in the state senate are, but given how this election shaped up, that seems like a bold move. 66% of PA voters want it passed.

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ILikeMyGrassBlue t1_ivsmmbh wrote

I agree, but remember that’s been the case for quite some time. The majority of people wanted it, the governor pushed, dems pushed it, and they still didn’t budge. I like to be optimistic, and I like to keep reality in mind as well.

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vaxinate t1_ivu71ry wrote

Yeah I’m more or less with you. It’s always good to be realistic. It’s still going to be an uphill battle, but I still think the changes I pointed out put a light at the end of the tunnel that was nonexistent or at least tough to see before.

One more point though: the current MMJ program was passed through our GOP run legislature in 2016, so saying things haven’t budged at all under GOP control doesn’t feel totally accurate. It seems like they will move this sort of legislation when the right amount of pressure is applied.

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ILikeMyGrassBlue t1_ivu7m1h wrote

I’m just talking about recreational. They’ve had multiple opportunities, even bills from within their own party, and they refuse.

The speaker of the house cried on the floor when the medical bill was passed, so they didn’t even have the whole party’s support then either. And they only passed that because the program is a blatant corporate cash grab. When they do inevitably decide to legalize rec, it’ll also be a corporate cash grab lol. It is inevitable though.

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vaxinate t1_ivuantc wrote

Yeah idk. The two don’t exist in their own vacuum. I think the 2016 bill is a pretty good sign that the GOP’s obstinance on rec cannabis won’t hold for too long under pressure, but who tf knows what that means in time units at this point.

We’re basically on the same page just at different points on the optimism/pessimism gradient.

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