Here's why Pa. Republican medical marijuana maverick Folmer won’t back recreational pot

Two Pennsylvania Democrats recently unveiled a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana – but they won’t be getting the support of a Republican senator whose advocacy helped make medical marijuana a reality in Pennsylvania.

State Sen. Mike Folmer, who represents all of Lebanon County and portions of Dauphin and York counties, has previously expressed opposition to recreational pot. He said Tuesday that nothing in the new bill would change his mind.

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What’s in the bill?

The recreational cannabis bill – unveiled Monday by Democratic state senators Daylin Leach and Sharif Street – would do the following, according to Leach’s website:

• Legalize cannabis consumption for people 21 and older, and automatically expunge certain cannabis-related criminal convictions;
• Create regulations allowing businesses to permit cannabis consumption on their premises;
• Authorize macro-licenses for large-grow operations, plus micro-licenses for smaller businesses and allow households to grow up to six marijuana plants for personal use only;
• Allow an unlimited number of growing permits for those who meet regulatory requirements;
• Develop a state and municipal licensure process for growing, processing, dispensaries and public consumption lounges; and
• Tax the cannabis industry, with the majority of tax revenue going to public education.

“We’ve had a cruel, irrational and expensive policy on cannabis for more than 80 years,” Leach said in a news release. “Prohibition has destroyed countless lives and has cost our taxpayers millions of dollars. It’s time we walk into the bright sunshine of enlightenment and stop arresting our kids and funding violent drug cartels.”

The possibility of legalizing recreational marijuana has received some support from Pennsylvania’s executive branch. Gov. Tom Wolf said in December that the state should begin to take a look at it, and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is crossing the state on a “listening tour” about the subject. Fetterman held a town hall on the topic at York College’s DeMeester Recital Hall Tuesday night.

Sen. Mike Folmer’s position on recreational weed

Folmer said he doesn’t want people in prison because of possession of an ounce of marijuana. He’s worried, however, that recreational legalization will draw resources away from medical marijuana and developing the healing potential of cannabis. The small-business micro-grower program proposed by Leach and Street isn’t enough to alleviate those concerns, he said.

“They call it the green rush for a (reason),” he said. “You can talk a good game, but once you bring recreational marijuana in, it’s going to be a race to the bottom. It’s going to be who can produce it the cheapest.”

He also believes an aggressive push for recreational legalization could harm the educational efforts of medical marijuana advocates in ending the stigma about cannabis as a medicine, he said.

“I think we need to make sure we’re doing our best to have the best medicine available for our patients,” he said.