Marijuana meetings start in Harrisburg with strong showing of support for legal pot

By Charles Thompson

Marijuana reform advocates dominated the opening night of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s statewide listening tour on whether Pennsylvania should join the ranks of states that are legalizing marijuana for adult use.

Even with snow falling throughout the region Monday night, dozens of people packed the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg on North Front Street to talk about legalizing marijuana.

There were some opponents who voiced their opinions, to be sure. But the public comments on this opening night ranged about four-to-one in favor of a broad legalization of pot for recreational use.

Arguments in support of the change generally revolved around two major issues:

• The state’s existing medical marijuana program is out-of-reach for many patients who could benefit, either because the regulated product is too costly, or because the list of conditions approved for medical marijuana use are too limited.
• The long history of marijuana as a battle front in the war on drugs has checkered too many residents’ criminal histories with career-stunting drug charges over what supporters say is little more than a lifestyle choice.

Some were like Darryll Hickey, a 36-year-old Middletown resident who complained that he believes his job options have been limited because of a plea deal he took for possession of drug paraphernalia after a marijuana-related arrest several years ago.

“The worst thing I’ve ever seen to come out of smoking cannabis is the penalties from the (criminal justice) system,” Hickey said. “It’s time to end this.”

Or Jay Heycock, a 52-year-old from the Mechanicsburg area, said marijuana saved him from an addiction to painkillers prescribed by his doctors.

“Without marijuana, I wouldn’t have been able to stop... It’s actually much better pain relief. It’s a much better solution. And marijuana never killed anyone. Opiates have killed thousands of people,” Heycock said. It was not clear if Heycock was a participant in the state’s medical marijuana program.

Some supporters had very specific asks of any proposal to legalize marijuana for adult use.

Brandon Flood of the Greater Harrisburg Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said his organization believes any Pennsylvania legalization bill must include a pathway for folks that have been prosecuted in the past to get their records purged of any small-scale marijuana crimes.

Others argued any legalization bill should include provisions permitting residents to cultivate a limited number of plants in their residences.

“I know... many medical patients that are still suffering because they can not afford it. They need to be able to grow it in their home,” said Adrienne Leasa of Hummelstown.

Some supporters spoke to what they see as the misconceptions about marijuana users.

Sarah Latch, a 23-year-old recent honors grad of Shippensburg University who now lives in Harrisburg, estimated that she works with 10 other people who are recreational marijuana smokers.

“It’s not because they’re dumb, lazy and don’t care,” Latch said. “It’s because it’s genuinely a better alternative than the use of alcohol or opioids.... I believe that so many people in Pennsylvania can find a safer and better way of living through cannabis than through alcohol or through opioids.

“To be able to have a legal and regulated access to it would make the difference in the lives of so many people,” Latch said.

Much of the opposition heard Monday night seemed to center on arguments that Pennsylvania, specifically, is not ready to add marijuana to the list of regulated vices.

Camp Hill resident Marianna Horowitz argued that changing the law would lead to more marijuana usage among younger kids. She stated that Pennsylvania’s treatment network simply isn’t built to deal with the problems that could arise from that.

“We don’t have the tools in place to protect our kids," Horowitz said.

Stanley Beaver, a Harrisburg resident who was a retired workplace safety expert, said he has responded to fatal workplace accidents were marijuana intoxication was at fault.

“If people were responsible with it, it’s great,” Beaver said. “But they’re not.”

He said he would oppose any broader legalization of marijuana until there was much better testing available to be able to measure the high, like the blood-alcohol content tests can currently do for drinkers.

But the naysayers were badly outnumbered by the supporters on this night.

Retired Lutheran pastor Russell Mueller, also of Harrisburg, argued that regulated marijuana sales will reduce Pennsylvanians’ exposure to drug dealers who want to groom customers "of even more addictive, deadly and profitable drugs.

“Let’s sell it (marijuana) in a controlled manner as we do cigarettes and alcohol, protecting our people,” Mueller said. “Let’s not spend our limited tax dollars on an enforcement that has been a failure.”

“This plant belongs to the people, and it’s belonged to the people all along and it needs to come back,” Leesa said.

Monday’s was the first of what has been billed as an every-county listening tour led by Fetterman through this winter and spring. Gov. Tom Wolf and Fetterman announced the tour last month as a way to begin exploring whether Pennsylvania should consider following New Jersey and New York’s lead in pursuing legalizing marijuana.

Fetterman, who has been vocal in his personal support for legalization in the past, steered clear of any attempt to steer the dialogue Monday night. “My views aren’t important tonight,” he said at one point as one speaker sought to engage him on the issue.

But he did seem to make a point of capturing on video a show of hands from the crowd that was overwhelmingly in favor of legalization.

“We got a clear shot of that?” Fetterman asked his videographer. “Because I want everyone in Pennsylvania to see, we did Dauphin County, and this was the audience.”

Any legalization bill will likely face an uphill battle in the state legislature, however, where leaders of the Republican majorities in the state House and Senate have declared their opposition.

Fetterman plans to visit all 67 counties over a three-month period to gather input on the idea. He also welcomes people to submit their comments through a webpage form that was launched earlier Monday.

At the end of the tour, Fetterman said last week, the findings will be presented to Wolf and “ultimately it would be his decision what we do with it moving forward.”

More hearings

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is slated to lead two more discussions on legalization of marijuana in the midstate this week.

Tonight: Fetterman is slated to travel to Newport on Tuesday to host a conversation at the Newport Public Library, 316 N. 4th St., from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday: It’s on to Mechanicsburg where he will be at the American Legion Post 109, 224 W. Main St., from 6 to 7:30 p.m.