State Senator Mike Regan has made his opinion known about legalizing adult use marijuana in Pennsylvania this week.
Writing in the York Daily Record, Regan said, “When I first started talking about legalizing adult-use marijuana, I got the expected question from constituents, friends, and colleagues: How could I, as a former U.S. Marshal, support legalizing marijuana? I have reached this position after thoughtful study over the past several years, with the start being Pennsylvania’s legalization of medical marijuana in 2016 when I was a leader on the issue in the House of Representatives. What medical marijuana has shown us is that there is a place for safe, regulated marijuana, and that it does have benefits to its users.”
The Senator went on to say that the long-standing prohibition of marijuana has been the norm with many of us being raised to “just say no.” This makes changing minds and policy difficult.
“My 23 years in law enforcement, however, didn’t train me to run from difficult situations but rather towards them. It is in my nature to investigate and find the truth and to protect my fellow citizens. That is what I have been doing and continue to do with respect to adult-use marijuana legalization.”
Regan also says that an estimated $325 million a month is flowing from Pennsylvania to the illicit market and bankrolling violent cartels, who are destroying the state’s communities.
“We have the opportunity to build off of our current medical marijuana program that has proven marijuana can be grown and sold responsibly in Pennsylvania and provide the estimated two million-plus Pennsylvanians currently using marijuana with a safe product that is not laced with dangerous drugs like Fentanyl or PCP. ”
Regan highlights a recent poll that asked 1,500 Pennsylvanians from every corner of the Commonwealth a very simple question: With what you now know about current illegal cannabis in Pennsylvania, do you believe it is better to maintain the illicit market status quo or to legalize, regulate, and tax non-medical use of cannabis by adults?
Over 90% agreed that, when presented with the two genuine choices available to us, the logical course was to legalize, regulate and tax adult-use cannabis.
“Ninety percent. In this day and age, that’s as close to consensus as we come,” said Regan.
