Rep. Krajewski: It’s Time For Pennsylvania Senate GOP To Get Serious About Marijuana, Sponsor Of House-Passed Legalization Bill Says (Op-Ed)
After PA House Democrats passed the first recreational cannabis bill in our commonwealth’s history, Rep. Rick Krajewski calls on Senate Republicans to pass their own legislation so that negotiations can being in earnest to finally do away with the failed policy of prohibition.
Rep. Dan Frankel: Don’t let corporate cannabis hijack legalization in PA
Rep. Dan Frankel warns against letting corporate cannabis interests hijack legalization in Pennsylvania, arguing that big multistate operators could dominate a private-market model and undermine social equity and fair access. He advocates for a regulatory framework that protects smaller, justice-impacted entrepreneurs instead of rewarding entrenched corporate players.
Social Equity Promises in State After State, But MSOs Always Dominate
Nearly every adult-use state has made promises of social equity opportunities in their cannabis programs, and every single program has fallen short of that promise. Either by gaming the system in fighting it in court, the multistate operators are able to dominate every market.
‘A betrayal’: Calif. plan to help Black shop owners leaves business with millions in debt: LA's social equity program has been plagued by mismanaged funds and failed promises
Los Angeles’s cannabis social equity program has left many Black license holders burdened by massive tax debts, delayed openings, and misallocated grant funds. As a result, roughly 70% of these operators report being at risk of failure, prompting calls for a tax bailout and complete reform of the program.
Social Equity in Cannabis: The Promise and Pitfalls Across the U.S.: Despite good intentions, social equity efforts across the United States often fail to deliver meaningful support to the very people they’re meant to uplift. Can that change?
Social equity cannabis programs in states like Illinois, Massachusetts, and Colorado aim to help justice-impacted applicants but are plagued by delays, underfunding, and vague rules. These gaps have allowed large multistate operators to exploit partnerships and dominate markets, undermining the programs’ intent.
Social equity programs in marijuana legalization laws aren’t achieving goals of helping victims of the drug war: State efforts to promote social equity within legal cannabis markets have unintentionally created new versions of the war on drugs.
Current state-run social equity cannabis programs, despite their intention to aid individuals harmed by the War on Drugs, largely fail to deliver benefits to actual victims and instead often raise barriers that prevent those most impacted by the War on Drugs from entering the regulated market.
Minnesota Cannabis Regulators Broke Law When Canceling Social Equity Lottery, Judge Rules: The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management abandoned its preapproval lottery for social equity licenses amid a stay order late last year.
When Minnesota cannabis laws failed to set up a social equity lottery that would provide sustainable opportunities for minority entrepreneurs, regulators attempted to cancel the lottery all together – virtually guaranteeing MSO domination of the market. A federal judge ruled that the cancelation violated state law.
Missouri revokes 25 more marijuana social equity licenses
Missouri regulators revoked 25 more cannabis microbusiness licenses—many for failing to prove true majority ownership by eligible social equity applicants—amid reports that large multistate operators were using predatory agreements to control these licenses. The revocations highlight how MSOs have exploited loopholes in the program, undermining its goal of empowering disadvantaged entrepreneurs.
“Bounded Equity: The Limits of Economic Models of Social Justice in Cannabis Legislation”
This NIH study finds that cannabis social equity programs—despite well-meaning aims like fee reductions, special licensing, and training—often fail. The article argues for the need for locally informed, ethnographic research to reveal historical and hyper-local barriers, advocating for more comprehensive approaches that go beyond market-based remedies focused on profit redistribution.
MSOs are fighting for themselves, not for Pennsylvanians
Flower Power: How Arizona’s weed lobby wields its political influence: The Arizona Dispensaries Association, backed by corporate behemoths, sits at the nexus of power in the state's weed industry.
Despite the Arizona weed lobby’s public-facing messaging about representing businesses of all sizes and fostering a consumer-focused industry, its carefully managed political power has led to a corporatized cannabis market marked by high barriers for cultivators and limited legislative reform.
Medical cannabis companies are spending big to have a say in Pa.’s legal weed future
Pro-cannabis interests poured at least $1.6 million into lobbying the Pennsylvania legislature in 2024 as lawmakers considered legalizing recreational marijuana—a campaign led by major multistate operators such as Trulieve and Cresco Labs, who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to ensure that a new cannabis market is structured to benefit them.
Public Health Protections Must Follow the Science
Recreational cannabis laws must come with strong health and safety rules—independent lab testing for potency and contaminants, clear labeling, child-resistant packaging, advertising limits, impaired-driving enforcement, and ongoing public health monitoring. Too many states have fallen short, allowing lab fraud, weak enforcement, and slow responses to risks like contamination or youth access. Prohibitionists will point to these issues as reasons to maintain the status quo, but thoughtful regulation can and should protect public health.
Pennsylvania House Passes Bill To Strengthen Medical Marijuana Program Oversight And Testing Requirements
The Pennsylvania House overwhelmingly passed (194-8) legislation aimed at enhancing the safety and accountability of its medical marijuana program—this includes stricter lab testing, more robust product audits, and improved oversight to ensure potency and purity standards. Sponsored by Rep. Dan Frankel, the bill (HB33) was crafted after hearings for adult use cannabis reveals an urgent need for health protections in the commonwealth’s current medical program and any future expanded cannabis marketplace.
Pennsylvania’s Wild West of unregulated weed
An Inquirer investigation found that nearly 90% of cannabis-like products sold in Pennsylvania smoke shops illegally exceeded federal THC limits, with many tainted by mold, pesticides, or even synthetic drugs. Some carried fake lab reports, exposing a largely unregulated “Wild West” market that poses health risks, especially to teens. Lawmakers are now under pressure to replace the gray market with a regulated system.
First Confirmed Case Links Medical Cannabis Product to Rare Fungal Infection: A cancer patient, using medical cannabis to manage the side effects of chemotherapy, developed a life-threatening fungal infection after using a contaminated product.
A case study in Clinical Infectious Diseases confirmed that contaminated medical cannabis caused a rare fungal infection in a Pennsylvania cancer patient, raising urgent concerns about product safety. The finding highlights the need for stricter microbial testing standards.
Legal Marijuana Contains Dangerous Mold. States Approve It Anyway.
A data analysis of over two million cannabis mold test results from nine states revealed an unlikely spike of samples reporting mold levels just below legal limits—and almost none just above—suggesting a pattern of underreporting in state-regulated labs. Dangerous molds like Aspergillus and Fusarium were likely being cleared for sale, and some labs appeared to gain more business by consistently passing more samples. These findings expose significant lapses in testing oversight and public health protections across the legal cannabis industry.
Cannabis Poisonings Are on the Rise Among Children, Says New Report — Here’s Why: Experts believe the increase is linked to the legalization of edible cannabis in a number of states, as well as the often candy-like packaging
According to data from America’s Poison Centers, annual cannabis-overdose calls involving children skyrocketed from about 930 cases in 2009 to over 22,000 in 2024, with more than 75% of these incidents involving minors. Many cases stem from edible cannabis products—especially gummies—packaged in ways that attract children; while most cases are not life-threatening, 620 were classified as severe in 2024, and 100 children required ventilator support.
The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: The Current State of Evidence and Recommendations for Research
The National Academies’ conducted and summarized an analysis of the research available on the health effects of cannabis and cannabinoids and provided recommendations to help advance the research field and better inform public health decisions.
Some wonder if the federal prohibition against cannabis would put a publicly-owned retail system at risk, but history says no
Blazing new trails: 13 Minnesota cities are considering municipal cannabis stores
Enabled by a provision in the 2023 adult use legislation, thirteen Minnesota cities are taking steps to open municipally owned cannabis retail stores, drawing on the success of municipal liquor stores for both compliance confidence and local revenue.
Inside America’s Only Government-Run Pot Dispensary
The Cannabis Corner in Bonneville, Washington, operated from 2015-2021 as the sole municipally operated cannabis dispensary in the U.S.
Medical marijuana could provide financial boost for LSU and Southern University systems
Until recently, Louisiana State University and Southern University – both state schools - were the exclusive license holders authorized to produce medical cannabis in the state. Each partnered with private contractors to cultivate and distribute products to licensed pharmacies.
Industry Attacks on Worker Protections
Federal court strikes down Oregon law requiring marijuana licensees to sign labor peace agreements
Multistate Operators fought for and won a court ruling barring the implementation of a voter-approved measure to mandate labor peace agreements within the cannabis industry.