Real talk… can we make recreational weed legal now?Submitted by the_mandateofheaven t3_yqowos in Pennsylvania
ILikeMyGrassBlue t1_ivpelh0 wrote
In PA, nothing can happen unless the GOP goes along with it. They have the PA house and senate. If they say no, that means no. It’s entirely up to them, just like it was with wolf in charge. Having fetterman in the senate is good at a federal level, but we’re still shit out of luck on a state level unless the GOP realizes it’s not 1950 anymore.
Prepare_Your_Angus t1_ivppt7j wrote
Plus the last time it was brought up didn't conservative lawmakers start crying about it? Lmao
ILikeMyGrassBlue t1_ivpqsjp wrote
The GOP speaker of the house cried when the medical bill passed, even though the GOP were the ones who passed it lmao. He’s thankful gone now.
Mijbr090490 t1_ivpy0ec wrote
Mike "pass me a tissue" Turzai
the_mandateofheaven OP t1_ivq88ed wrote
Mike “gave kids cancer” Turzai, is now working for an energy company… he approved a pipeline knowing it would give kids cancer… you can’t make villains like this up.
One word… yuck.
drugs_r_neat t1_ivxpsww wrote
He can go frack himself.
themollusk t1_ivt7emf wrote
Republicans cried about it, and the PSP released a statement pleading for everyone to please consider their revenue stream.
vaxinate t1_ivqg3z0 wrote
Time to start working out those optimism muscles https://twitter.com/PAHDCC/status/1590417342844276738
ILikeMyGrassBlue t1_ivqgb8x wrote
That is very helpful, but it still can’t happen without the reps since they have the senate. Having the house should allow the dems to place a lot more pressure on the reps though, which may help get something through.
Finrodsrod t1_ivqgx7e wrote
Yeah, but now the Dems in the House can pass a bill forward and point directly at the Reps in the Senate saying THEY are the ones holding back the law.
ILikeMyGrassBlue t1_ivqi58o wrote
Yeah, that’s basically what I said. But it doesn’t really change much. They’ve pushed forward multiple weed bills that republicans killed. Sure, they never passed out of the house, but the message is the same—“republicans killed this weed bill.”
I’m glad they took the house. It’s fantastic. I’m just being realistic in that nothing will happen weed wise until the GOP changes their mind. Just the way it is at the moment. Their base doesn’t care about weed enough to change their vote over it no either way, so they can ignore it all they want if they choose to.
Personally, I think it’s only a matter of time until they cave for the money. But the decision is ultimately up to them at this point, or the voters if we vote them all out.
Finrodsrod t1_ivqjhxh wrote
> Their base doesn’t care about weed enough to change their vote over it no either way
I dunno, man. Rednecks love their weed.
ILikeMyGrassBlue t1_ivqkbod wrote
I didn’t say they don’t. I just said they don’t care enough about it enough to change their vote, which is true. They’re still going to vote for the reps because of guns, culture war bullshit, immigration, SoCiALiSm, etc.
vaxinate t1_ivs7pfc wrote
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Finrodsrod t1_ivqgqgs wrote
Update: Dems may flip the PA House.
SnooRevelations9889 t1_ivqxlo0 wrote
Yes, that's very likely at this point.
pwnedkiller t1_ivrlnyu wrote
I really think a lot of blame but not all is to be put on Trump. The R party was bad before but he came along and just squeezed the ever loving shit out of them and the worst of the worst came out. Now people are finally waking up and starting to let their voice be heard. I also believe it’s a lot of younger Americans in a long time actually taking a stand and voting.
Abortion was the final nail in the coffin for republicans. They wanted to ban it and they got it but I don’t think they anticipated the consequences.
Reynard1981 t1_ivryiuz wrote
Lol nope
Finrodsrod t1_ivvc9gd wrote
What's it like living on a different plane of reality?
Reynard1981 t1_ivvjxdi wrote
You tell me, liberal democrats have been doing that for more than 16 years.
No-Setting9690 t1_ivq9xqb wrote
Silly us to think our gov't would represent what the majority wants.
themollusk t1_ivt79r6 wrote
They're going to have to bend sooner or later. With Maryland legalizing out on Tuesday, roughly 3/4 of PA now borders a legal state. The lost tax revenue is going to be into the gajillions.
Rheum42 t1_ivrh66p wrote
We need a lot of assholes to die out
[deleted] t1_ivrtxwi wrote
[deleted]
KFBR392_KFBR392_ t1_ivsb38f wrote
If they say no then the answer is obviously no. The thing is, they’re not gonna say no, they’d never say no…. Because of the implication
ILikeMyGrassBlue t1_ivsmi9a wrote
They’ve already said no, multiple times. There is no implication for them to care about. Their base is not going to change their vote either way. Everyone already knows they’re against it.
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