Pa. Gov. Wolf: It’s time to talk about legalizing pot

Gov. Tom Wolf told the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce that with New Jersey and New York moving toward legalized marijuana, Pennsylvania must consider it.

Tom MacDonald

February 11, 2019

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf delivers his budget address for the 2019-20 fiscal year to a joint session of the Pennsylvania House and Senate in Harrisburg last week. He spoke before the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Monday, calling for a candid look at legalizing recreational marijuana. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

In a wide-ranging conversation before Philadelphia’s Chamber of Commerce, Gov. Tom Wolf said it’s time for Pennsylvania to take a good look at legalizing recreational marijuana.

Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman are touring the state to get feedback on the possibility of legalizing marijuana.

“Let’s take account of the reality that New York State is moving in the direction of legalizing recreational marijuana, the state of New Jersey is moving in the direction of legalizing recreational marijuana,” Wolf said Monday. “We can do one of two things. We can duck our head in the sand, or we can put our heads up and ask what is happening here.

“And is it time for us to start thinking differently about this?” he said.

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The governor also talked about charging municipalities that rely on state police for law enforcement.

“I’m trying to get them to pay for what they use,” he said. “We all know there is no such thing as a free lunch. But one of the artifices of Pennsylvania’s statute is, if you want to have the state police cover your municipality, you can get them to do that for free.”

Wolf reiterated he has no aspirations for political office beyond this second term as governor.

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