📈 Strong support for legalization in Pennsylvania

PA
Support for cannabis legalization in Pennsylvania 📈

What happened: Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly support cannabis legalization, including in two crucial Republican-held Congressional districts. 

Responsible PA, an organization pushing for legalization in New York, says that 62% of residents support legalization — far outpacing Vice President Kamala Harris’ support in the state. 

And, according to recent polls, cannabis is a winning issue in two Republican-held districts, HD44 and HD18, at 67% in both. Only about a quarter of residents in each district oppose legalization. 

Zoom in: Pennsylvania is a bellwether state for national elections as it is a “swing” state with 19 electoral college votes. 

The state has tried, and failed, so far to legalize cannabis this year. But a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced new legislation in September that, if passed, would legalize cannabis in the state. 

And the fact that cannabis is outpacing Democratic support in the state means that cannabis could be a winning issue for both parties — reform is supported by both Harris and Former President Donald Trump. 

The final word: Elected officials in both parties will be watching closely to see how legalization performs in important swing districts in Pennsylvania. It’s a strong signal that party leaders should — or shouldn’t — adopt legalization as a winning strategy. 

- JB

“We are a safe space for conversation around cannabis,” Alexa Alianiello, the head of cannabis at X (formerly Twitter) said at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago on Wednesday.

“It really is the only social platform where you can talk about cannabis openly.”

Few social media platforms and search engines allow cannabis companies to advertise products due to federal regulations in the US. That includes Meta products like Facebook and Instagram, as well as Google. 

It makes it difficult for cannabis companies to reach their customers. 

X, run by Elon Musk, is trying to chart a different path, and to its credit, it is the main place — with a shoutout to LinkedIn — to discuss cannabis online. But the platform is also struggling to woo advertisers from more established industries, as hateful content has flourished on the site since Musk took over.

Canopy Growth closed its acquisition of edibles company Wana Brands, as part of the company’s Canopy USA division. The company has to separate its US and Canadian assets to maintain its listing on the Nasdaq, which bars cannabis companies that operate in the US.  

New York’s getting another dispensary: Alto Dispensary will open in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood at 11 AM today. Go check it out, and buy legal!

Americans don’t trust the government on cannabis 🌿

Surprise, surprise: Most Americans don’t trust the government for information on cannabis, according to a new study of 1,161 adults and published in the Journal of Cannabis Research. The study found government agencies were the primary source of cannabis information for only 4.7% of people. Many people trusted their friends and family, or websites for their information. Read more at Marijuana Moment.

Perhaps not “fun” by any reasonable standards, but we wanted to highlight two bad cannabis takes we saw today. (If you all like this we’ll do a more regular “bad takes” section, let us know). 

• Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), a Republican cannabis opponent, asks on X: “Legalization of recreational marijuana is just a bad idea - plain and simple. Why would we want to do this to our youth?” Well, Rep. Harris, no one wants to legalize cannabis for kids. 

• Jenna Ellis, a lawyer who was indicted after working on former President Donald Trump’s campaign to overturn the election, released an ad advocating against Florida’s Amendment 3 vote. With friends like these…

Cannabis is now legal in many US states – but can the smell get you in trouble? | The Guardian

DEA could reclassify marijuana to a less restrictive category – a drug policy expert weighs the pros and cons | The Conversation

Cannabis, psychedelics on the ballot in seven states | Green Market Report

Herald endorsement: Our recommendation on Florida’s constitutional Amendment 3 | The Miami Herald