More than 60% of Pennsylvania voters polled support legalizing adult-use marijuana in the commonwealth.
For younger voters like Kennedy Landers, it’s not about if marijuana should be legalized in Pennsylvania. The question is how.
Landers, 21, said she doesn’t know anybody her age opposed to legalizing marijuana.
“The type of discussions we have, as young people, is how we go about doing it,” said the Susquehanna University student. “It’s definitely a consensus of, ‘This thing is okay and we want people to be able to do it, how do we make that happen.’”
As states bordering the commonwealth continue to legalize adult-use cannabis—including Ohio, which opened its adult-use market in August—it seems the opinion on the topic locally is one about progress for Pennsylvanians.
According to a new poll conducted by Change Research and ResponsiblePA, more than 60% of Pennsylvania voters in every county polled—across demographics and party registration—support legalizing adult-use marijuana.
The polling targeted voters in five state House districts with competitive races this November. Those five districts cover six counties: Beaver, Bucks, Cambria, Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Montgomery.
In Beaver County (74%), Luzerne and Lackawanna counties (74%), and Montgomery County (77%), voters say they believe legalizing marijuana will enhance public health by ensuring the sale of quality-tested products.
In Montgomery County, 74% of voters believe legalization will boost the economy by creating jobs, according to the poll.
In fact, in July, ResponsiblePA released an economic study conducted by the national consulting firm FTI Consulting, showcasing a potential windfall of $2.1 billion in tax revenue as a result of an adult-use market in Pennsylvania in year one. The economic forecast also predicted the creation of more than 30,000 jobs in a year, an additional $4.2 billion in economic output, $2.6 billion in state GDP for the state, and $420 million in recurring tax revenue.
Landers agrees that an adult-use market would create a great revenue stream for the state that could be put to good use in different areas—but she also sees the safety benefits from it.
“I think a lot of people my age have a medical card so they can get safe pot, so they’re not buying it out of some football boy’s dorm room,” Landers said. “They know what’s in it, and they know how much the THC content is. When it comes to the younger generation, it’s more about safe supply.”
Attempts have already been made in Pennsylvania to legalize adult-use marijuana. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro included it in his 2024-25 budget proposal, but it didn’t make it into the final draft that was passed by state legislators.
Last month, state Reps. Aaron Kaufer (R-Luzerne) and Emily Kinkead (D-Allegheny) introduced House Bill 2500, a bipartisan bill to legalize adult-use marijuana in the commonwealth. It is sitting in the Health Committee awaiting a vote.
Other bills have been introduced in both the House and the Senate in recent years by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. All of those bills are stuck in committees.
Landers said she thinks a lot of the problem still lies in the stigma surrounding marijuana.
“I think a lot of it is showing people that [marijuana] use isn’t bad,” Landers said. “My hometown is a very conservative, rural area. People hold a lot of big opinions on [marijuana] use. I think destigmatizing it, especially in older generations, is what’s going to help cannabis reform on both the state and national level.”
