And we’re back with Broad + Liberty’s Candidate Spotlight Series! Each week, we reach out to candidates all across the Commonwealth up for election to public office — an equal number of Democrats and Republicans; incumbents and challengers. We ask one question per week about public policy pressing to you. Those who choose to respond will have their answers shared on our website every Wednesday through Sunday.

Yesterday, Pennsylvania’s nominees for Governor discussed the nuances of marijuana legalization. Today, their running mates weigh in.

If you are a candidate for public office in Pennsylvania and would like to participate in our series, please reach out to lsattler@broadandliberty.com.

This week’s question: As of this writing, nineteen states have legalized the full recreational adult use of marijuana, and legislation has been presented in PA’s General Assembly to make it twenty. Would you support legislation to legalize recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania? Why or why not?

Austin Davis (D)

Continuing to criminalize adult personal marijuana use is not only a waste of our resources, but also hurts our minority communities and holds our economy back. 

As State Representative of an old steel town, I worked to reclaim former mill sites for new uses, such as helping PurePenn, a medical marijuana grower, come to McKeesport. By connecting an old steel mill to a new and growing economy, we created hundreds of good-paying jobs, revitalized our community, and helped more working families succeed.

Pennsylvanians have no time for outdated laws. We must use all our resources to boost our economy and make Pennsylvania a more attractive place to do business. That’s why Josh and I will work to regulate and tax marijuana responsibly and ensure that this new business is directly helping Pennsylvania workers, rather than subsidizing out-of-state companies.


Carrie Lewis DelRosso (R)

Carrie Lewis DelRosso chose not to respond this week.


Broad + Liberty is a nonprofit media endeavor dedicated to sharing voices and stories that are shut out of other media outlets. @BroadAndLiberty

4 thoughts on “Lieutenant Governor Candidate Spotlight: Marijuana Legalization”

    1. Yes. Except in regards to driving. The preponderance of the research shows marijuana consumption is not a significant cause of auto accidents. — In 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), found that while drunken driving dramatically increased the risk of getting into an accident, there was no evidence that using marijuana heightened that risk.

  1. Science and widespread experience have shown marijuana is not addictive and has no significant harms. – Yet, more than 500,000 innocent Americans are arrested for simple marijuana possession each year and made second-class citizens – for life! They will forever face large obstacles to decent employment, education, travel, housing, government benefits, and will always go into court with one strike against them. They can even have their children taken away!

    20 million Americans are now locked away in this very un-American sub-class because of this bogus “criminal” record. That has a horrible effect on the whole country, being a massive waste of human potential.

    The fraudulent marijuana prohibition has never accomplished one positive thing. It has only caused vast amounts of crime, corruption, violence, death and the diminishing of everyone’s freedom.

    1. You are inncorrect JT. The new MJ is so powerful, we have seen people take just ONE puff in the morning, and their “HIGH” lasts all day… yep, alllllll day.
      Now, do you want them driving tractor trailers, or flying airplanes, running a nuclear reactor? Or ANYTHING ELSE where adverse effects could AFFECT the rest of the population? I don’t want to pick up the NEXT taxpayer tab for ANOTHER ADDICTION ALA USA.. tired of it..

      “Yet, more than 500,000 innocent Americans are arrested for simple marijuana possession each year and made second-class citizens –”
      NO, they are not innocent if the law says “NO to posession.” How can they be innocent? ALL ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES. FOR EVERY ACTION, THERE IS A REACTION.

      “Science and widespread experience have shown marijuana is not addictive and has no significant harms.” WRONG…here is the sauce..

      https://americanaddictioncenters.org/marijuana-rehab/is-it-addictive

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