For the first time in state history, a public hearing was held on legalizing recreational marijuana.
The Senate Law and Justice Committee heard from members of law enforcement and criminal justice at the hearing yesterday.
Republican Senator Mike Regan spent 20 years in law enforcement and spoke in favor of the proposed law.
“Towards the end of my career, rarely were individuals charged with small possession amounts at all. Police were choosing not to bring charges. Prosecutors opted against clogging an already saturated court system,” Regan said. “These trends have become the norm with police and prosecutors wisely focusing their efforts on violent crime and large scale drug trafficking.”
Governor Tom Wolf has said that he would sign a bill that legalized recreational marijuana.