DEA Rescheduling, Pa. Legalization Efforts May Breathe New Life Into Cannabis Practices

Duane Morris cannabis industry group team lead Paul Josephson spoke with The Legal Intelligencer on Pennsylvania cannabis legalization as the Drug Enforcement Administration has officially moved to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance.

“There’s not a legal practice area that hasn’t touched or worked for our cannabis practice here,” he said, although he and other attorneys emphasized the potential growth in financing work should rescheduling and local legalization efforts go through.

“Removing this from Schedule I … it provides immediate tax relief to companies in the cannabis business,” Josephson said, explaining that as the law currently stands, cannabis businesses aren’t allowed to deduct business expenses when they calculate and pay taxes, resulting in razor-thin profit margins. “When rescheduling happens, when that monkey comes off the back of the industry, it will improve cashflows for everyone in the business and allow for more investment.” Read more on the Duane Morris website.

PA Gov. Shapiro Calls for Adult-Use Legislation Now!

Seth Goldberg
Seth A. Goldberg

Citing the facts that Pennsylvania (i) is bordered almost entirely by states that have legalized cannabis for adult use; (ii) loses millions to the black market for cannabis annually; and (iii) projects hundreds of millions in annual revenue gains,  in his budget address for 2024 Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro called on Pennsylvania’s legislature to deliver by July 1, 2024, legislation that would legalize cannabis for adult-use in Pennsylvania:

“Well, last year, 57 percent of voters in Ohio supported an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana.  And now, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland – practically all of our neighbors – have legalized marijuana.  We’re losing out on an industry that, once fully implemented, would bring in more than 250 million dollars in annual revenue.  And our failure to legalize and regulate this only fuels the black market and drains much needed resources for law enforcement.  It’s time to catch up.  I ask you to come together and send to my desk a bill that legalizes marijuana.  But that bill should ensure the industry is regulated and taxed responsibly.  That we create jobs and build wealth here in Pennsylvania, especially in the communities that have been disproportionately harmed by criminalization.  And that those who have been convicted for nonviolent possession of small amounts of marijuana have their records expunged.  Let’s stop hamstringing ourselves and start competing.”

Governor Shapiro’s urgency is not surprising.  Pennsylvania should have been leading the way in legalizing cannabis for adult-use, given its successful medical marijuana program, but instead other states have spring-boarded ahead of Pennsylvania.  Those states are now enjoying the revenues, job growth and overall economic benefits of legal cannabis, including even profiting from Pennsylvania residents crossing the border to buy their cannabis.  It truly is time for Pennsylvania “to catch up” and “start competing” in the legal cannabis market for the good of all Pennsylvanians.   

Bi-Partisan Legislation to Legalize Cannabis in Pennsylvania Proposed

Seth Goldberg
Seth A. Goldberg

Pennsylvania Senators  Dan Laughlin (R) and Sharif Street (D) have proposed legislation to legalize cannabis in Pennsylvania.  Senate Bill 84 includes an 8% sales tax, 5% excise tax, restrictions on marketing to youth, expungement of prior cannabis convictions, and other social justice measures, such as social and economic equity licenses.  Given the legalization of cannabis in Pennsylvania-border states, such as New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Ohio, the legalization of cannabis in Pennsylvania is necessary to ensure PA cannabis consumers purchase their products in state, which will allow the Commonwealth to enjoy the associated tax revenue, and PA residents to enjoy the economic benefits, such as more jobs and construction, associated with expanding the current medical marijuana program.

Pennsylvania Almost Surrounded With Adult-Use Cannabis

Cannabis had a decent day at the polls yesterday, with voters in Maryland and Missouri legalizing adult-use, bringing the number of adult-use states to 21, but voters in Arkansas and the Dakotas voted against adult-use. With Maryland legalizing adult-use, Pennsylvania, which has a medical marijuana program, is getting closer to being surrounded by states where adult-use is legal. Across it’s northern, eastern, and southern borders Pennsylvania is now adjacent to adult-use states – New York, New Jersey, and Maryland. All three states are predicted to generate billions each in cannabis sales.

The election of Josh Shapiro as Pennsylvania Governor would guarantee the passage of adult-use legislation should it pass in the Pennsylvania senate. However, notwithstanding the tax revenues, job growth, and overall economic boost expanding from medical marijuana to adult-use would create in Pennsylvania, most believe state legislators are not there. Perhaps revenues lost from Pennsylvanians crossing the border to buy cannabis in New York, New Jersey, and Maryland will make the difference.

 

Pennsylvania’s Cannabis Market: What Investors And Entrepreneurs Need To Know

Duane Morris partner Seth Goldberg was quoted in an article on Benzinga:

Seth Goldberg, a partner and team leader at Philadelphia-based law firm Duane Morris‘ cannabis department, said PA’s program has remained stable during its three years of operation. He added that the state’s marijuana department has “worked out the administrative program kinks” to create a smooth-running program.

Goldberg highlighted achievements, including over 400,000 registered MMJ patients and soaring tax revenue, both of which help boost public support for the program.</blockquote?

To read the full text of the article, please visit the Benzinga website.

Bipartisan Adult-Use Bill To Be Introduced in Pennsylvania

Seth Goldberg
Seth A. Goldberg

Senators Dan Laughlin (R) and Sharif Street (D) are introducing legislation that would legalize marijuana for adult recreational use in Pennsylvania. This is the first time a republican senator has backed such a bill. The proposed legislation will attempt to generate revenue for the commonwealth and to promote social equity by way of increasing the number of licenses to operate, imposing a 6% sales tax, and imposing a 10% excise tax that would go toward a Cannabis Business Development Fund to provide aid, grants, and technical assistance to businesses and individuals in areas that have been disproportionately impacted by criminal prosecution for cannabis violations. Expungement of cannabis crimes would also be available.

Laughlin’s pragmatic views may encourage his republican colleagues in PA’s legislature to join him. As Laughlin stated during a press conference: “Our proposal prioritizes safety and social equity. And furthermore, it will let Pennsylvania’s robust agricultural industry participate in marijuana cultivation.” And both Laughlin and Street encouraged PA legislators to keep pace with lawmakers in New Jersey and New York, stating in their co-sponsorship memo: “This year our neighbors in New Jersey have signed adult use marijuana into law and our neighbors in New York are likely to legalize. It is our duty to taxpayers to seize the initiative and legalize marijuana concurrently with bordering states. Failure to do so risks permanently ceding hundreds of millions of dollars of new tax revenue as well as thousands of jobs at a time when taxpayers can least afford it.”

 

Seth Goldberg Discusses Pennsylvania Legalization of Adult-Use Marijuana

Seth Goldberg, Duane Morris partner and team lead of the Cannabis Industry Group, is quoted in the Philadelphia magazine article, “If Pennsylvania Is Going to Legalize Adult-Use Marijuana, This Is How It Should Be Done.”

Use the State’s Existing Supply Chain

“There is a supply chain that is already intact and could likely be expanded very quickly to allow for a recreational marijuana program to be implemented without too much challenge,” said Mr. Goldberg.

“You have growers and processors who can expand their production, labs who could expand their testing, dispensaries who could expand their sales, fairly quickly, to provide adult-use marijuana to Pennsylvanians. This is a very good framework to be utilized in a way that could get this done quickly and efficiently if people wanted to.” […]

Be Mindful of How Marijuana Is Taxed

Currently, marijuana growers and processors in Pennsylvania are taxed five percent on the gross receipts received from the sale of medical marijuana to a dispensary. But there is no sales tax on marijuana, so consumers who purchase it do not pay a tax. According to Mr. Goldberg, that could change with legalization, but it shouldn’t.

“Whether a marijuana sales tax is imposed on consumers or whether the five percent excise tax that’s imposed on growers and processors is increased, these are things that I certainly wouldn’t advocate for because I don’t know that it would be necessary to result in a boost in the tax revenue.” […]

To read the full article, please visit the phillymag.com.

Governor Wolf Calls on PA Legislature to Pass a Recreational Cannabis Bill; $1B of CARES Relief

Earlier today, August 25, 2020, Gov. Tom Wolf called on the Pennsylvania legislature to legalize recreational marijuana and use the tax revenue to help small businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, Gov. Wolf’s proposal on recreational marijuana was part of a package unveiled to spend the $1 billion remaining out of $3.6 billion CARES Act funding. The Governor called for a range of spending that would include$225 million in forgivable loans and grants to small businesses and another $100 million for restaurants and bars, hospitality and leisure businesses that have taken a big hit since March with business closures and occupancy restrictions. Tax revenue from the sale of recreational marijuana would add to the state’s small business funding and half would go to historically disadvantaged businesses.

To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Brad Molotsky, please visit the Duane Morris Project Development/Infrastructure/P3 Blog.

Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Program to Begin Phase II Permitting

Seth Goldberg
Seth A. Goldberg

On April 5, 2018, Phase 2 of the PA Department of Health’s permitting for commercial medical marijuana cultivation and dispensary operations will begin.

13 Grower/Processor permits will be available, two in each of the six DOH regions, and the 13th going to the highest scorer.  23 Dispensary permits will be available, nine in Region 1, three in Regions 2 and 3, two in Regions 4 and 6, and four in Region 5.  Applications will be available online at www.medicalmarijuana.pa.gov  on April 5, and the submission deadline will be May 17.

In June 2017, 12 Grower/Processor and 27 Dispensary permits were granted.    According to April Hutcheson of DOH:

  • 25,573 patients have registered to participate in the PA program;
  • 9,020 patient certifications have issued;
  • 7,000 of those patients have purchased their ID cards;
  • 6,683 patients have bought medical marijuana in a PA dispensary;
  • 866 physicians have been registered to participate in the program; and
  • 473 of the registered physicians have been approved.

Given the very real possibility that PA will approve the use of dry flower products, i.e., smoking and edibles, this summer, the PA market is positioned for strong performance over the next few years.

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The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author and are not to be construed as legal advice.

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