Written by Karen Shuey

It's not often that Berks County's three commissioners are in perfect harmony.

But when it comes to legalizing marijuana, they are singing the same tune.

The commissioners were in agreement at their weekly board meeting Thursday morning that the debate surrounding the possibility of Pennsylvania legalizing recreational marijuana seems to be more about money than protecting public health.

The issue came up when Commissioner Kevin S. Barnhardt, a Democrat, told his colleagues that the behavioral health task force he serves on as a member of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania is considering the impact legalizing marijuana would have on county governments.

"I certainly have my own reservations about legalizing marijuana for recreational use," he said.

"And what really floors me is that advocates say it would be a great way to raise tax revenue. I think this is a grab by the state to try to raise tax revenue. But it's a terrible way to go about doing something like that."

Barnhardt stressed that marijuana could be harmful to young people, pointing to scientific evidence that the human brain isn't fully developed until age 25. He also fears that the move could lead to more drugged-driving cases.

The push to look into the issue, Barnhardt said, was spurred in part by the 67-county listening tour that Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has begun to hear Pennsylvanians' views on the issue.

“I'm just hoping that the lieutenant governor isn't going to run roughshod over the message and the science, and just gather together people who think it's a cool idea without understanding the downside of all of this,” Barnhardt said. “It really needs to be researched and completely vetted before any false moves are made at the state level.”

Where it's legal now

Supporters of legalization argue that prohibition has failed to significantly reduce the use of marijuana, while costing billions of dollars and resulting in racially skewed arrests. Legalization, they say, would allow people to use a relatively safe substance without the threat of arrest, and let all levels of government raise revenues from sales and redirect resources to more serious needs.

Ten states — Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington — and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational use of the drug.

Proposals to legalize recreational marijuana are soon expected to move in the state capitols in New York and New Jersey. That was a trend Gov. Tom Wolf noted in suggesting it was time for his administration to examine the issue.

Berks Commissioner Mark C. Scott, a Republican, said Thursday that he has read numerous articles and opinion pieces detailing the negative impact of marijuana use — particularly on young people.

He cited scientific studies that found heavy cannabis use has caused mental illness. The National Academy of Medicine released a report in January 2017 stating that “cannabis use is likely to increase the risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychoses. The higher the use, the greater the risk.”

Scott then linked serious mental illness to the high cost of operating Berks County Prison.

Last spring, Warden Janine L. Quigley revealed that there were 614 inmates receiving mental health treatment of some kind at the county prison and 93 additional inmates diagnosed with serious mental illnesses. That means 65 percent of the total prison population fell into those two categories.

"Why would you want to exacerbate the cost of the jail system by encouraging or tolerating people using marijuana?" Scott asked. "That would certainly offset any tax revenue that we receive by legalizing it."

Commissioners Chairman Christian Y. Leinbach, also a Republican, agreed and warned that the new edible products being manufactured in states that have legalized marijuana carry a whole new health risk. He said they're potent, many times more potent than the pot brownies many his age remember from their youth.

"It a much more serious issue," he said. "But it's heading this way and it's something that I think we should get in front of as a county."