Fortitude: Turning Tragedy into Action

The Hidden Dangers of Pennsylvania's Recreational Cannabis Bill SB120

• PAN & SAM • Season 2 • Episode 14

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The battle against recreational marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania has reached a critical point as Senate Bill 120 advances through the legislature. This alarming proposal could fundamentally change Pennsylvania communities by introducing what many experts consider the most industry-friendly, public health-adverse cannabis legalization bill in America.

Dan Bartowiak, Chief Strategy Officer for Pennsylvania Family Institute, takes us through the troubling evolution of marijuana policy in the state. What began as a narrowly focused medical program in 2016 has morphed into a system with minimal oversight where three doctors alone have prescribed over 11,000 medical marijuana cards in a single year. Rather than addressing these existing problems, legislators are pushing full commercialization that would dramatically expand access and potency.

The current proposal contains provisions that should concern every Pennsylvania parent and community member. Unlike most states that cap THC concentrates at approximately 100mg per package, SB120 would allow up to 1,000mg – an amount that poses serious physical and mental health risks, especially to young people. The bill fails to establish meaningful potency limits and, most alarmingly, would prevent municipalities from opting out of having marijuana dispensaries in their neighborhoods.

Behind this aggressive push are not families or community advocates but well-funded industry interests. While medical marijuana campaigns featured patients and families, today's legislative hearings are dominated by corporate representatives and lobbyists advocating for a model that prioritizes profits over public health. As one legislator tragically noted from personal experience, his brother's death spiral began with marijuana use in high school before eventually leading to a fatal overdose in his thirties.

Pennsylvania's legislative process means citizens must work through their elected representatives rather than ballot initiatives. Join the many PAN Pennsylvania families, already fighting alongside Dan, to educate your legislators and advocate  against this dangerous bill. If you're concerned about protecting your community from the well-documented harms of commercialized marijuana, join PAN and learn how to effectively each out to your state senators and representatives. Besides joining PAN at pan@learnaboutsam.org you can also visit pafamily.org/truthonweed or contact dbart@pafamily.org to join the effort ensuring public health takes precedence over industry profits.

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SPEAKER_00:

Greetings, listeners. This is Chrissy Groenwegan from Parent Action Network for Smart Approaches to Marijuana, back for another episode of the Fortitude Podcast. And while generally we interview parents and hear their stories, today we're doing a special session, and I'm very excited to welcome Dan Bartoyak. He is the Chief Strategy Officer for Pennsylvania Family Institute. And the reason I'm having him here is because, as many Pennsylvanians know, and maybe others across the country, Pennsylvania recreational legalization is looming. And recently, early May, uh, I took parents with Dan to Capitol Hill in Pennsylvania, and we participated in a press conference and then proceeded to visit legislators telling stories and fighting against this looming legalization in Pennsylvania. Dan, thank you so much for agreeing to do this.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, it's great to be here. Thanks so much, Chrissy.

SPEAKER_00:

And as I was saying, what I'd really like to do is have Dan give us an overview of the current bill in Pennsylvania. We were successful in fighting off the first one when we when we had that press conference, but there are most multiple other bills, and one pressing right now appears to be the worst possible bill for Pennsylvania. And I thought it would be best as opposed to having secondhand information and having the man fighting the hill right now with this to tell us all about this as we prepare to interview all our Pennsylvania families over the next month. So thanks, Stan, and I'm gonna put this all right in your core.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, thank you, Chrissy, and and I certainly appreciate everybody with Smart Approaches to Marijuana and just the excellent work you guys are doing across the country. So I I work in an organization, Pennsylvania Family Institute, and uh we're a nonprofit organization based right in Harrisburg, and celebrating over 35 years we worked to essentially strengthen families, and a lot of that is through policy, what is going on at the Capitol. And so, really, when you look at this issue, I think taking a step back to some degree and looking at how we got here is really, it was roughly about 10 years ago was the debate on the medical use of marijuana. There were a few states, Colorado, Washington, that were just starting the experiment with recreational use. And here in Pennsylvania, a lot of the discussion focused specifically on that medical. There are families coming in and their child has epilepsy and you know, seeing some evidence to show that marijuana can help and should they be allowed to do that. And and so that was really the conversation that was happening over at the Capitol. And these, you know, many times it was families coming into legislators' offices, you know, pointing at some of this evidence and pushing for passage. And it was in 2016 that we passed the medical use for marijuana. And really, when you look at it today, what I'm hearing from legislators, what I see across the country, we've or across our state, is we've de facto really legalized the recreational use of marijuana in many respects. And so you have the problems with uh the the variety of products and potencies that are being offered at medical dispensaries. You have doctors that are prescribing thousands and thousands of medical cards, really without much medical oversight. Um, there's just a variety of issues, I would say, with regards to our medical program. And and to some degree coming up on that 10 years, I think we need to do kind of an analysis. I think our state really should be focusing on, okay, what has been the 10 past 10 years? And I think some of that you do look at the commercialization. You look at these large companies that are making profits off of the use of marijuana, right, and now targeting kind of the recreational, what we've seen in sadly so many other states, capitalizing on this addiction for profit industry. And so that's really now the conversation here. And so I often spend time at the Capitol. I go over, connect with there's 203 state representatives, 50 state senators, all have offices at the Capitol. And so trying to speak into the variety of issues. And so certainly with marijuana, you know, one is highlighting the many stories and the many harms that happen with marijuana use. Uh 10 years ago, again, as I mentioned, it was families talking about the need for medical use. Today, it's not families coming into lobby, it is the big corporations hiring their lobbyists, men in suits, that are going to these offices pushing for legalization of these, frankly, harmful drugs. And I think it's telling. I think it's obviously showing it's a profit-driven industry looking to pass a policy that frankly is profit-driven. We have our governor talking about we want to legalize this, pointing at the budget, you know, talking about these revenues. And sadly, you know, so many bring up kind of revenue projections. I've heard all kinds of numbers, you know, basically throw jello to the wall and see what sticks is kind of what's happened with this. And yet no one talks about those real costs and trying to analyze what happens from a healthcare perspective, from what happens, you know, just so many different industries. And so that's really what we've been trying to highlight. And I appreciate there were many families, you know, Chrissy, you remember a few months ago coming to the Capitol and helping to share their story, the real life situations that are happening with kids that are using marijuana, and whether it was through a medical card kind of going the legal route here in Pennsylvania, uh, just seeing the reality of particularly high potency marijuana products being used and what that does to young people, what it does to developing brains, what it does to you know so many. And it was just heartbreaking, really, to hear what these families deal with on a day-to-day basis.

SPEAKER_00:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

The the need for seeking treatment and and where they uh just it's just it just breaks your heart when you hear the families talk about this. And it's something that more legislators need to hear. And you know, here in Pennsylvania, there are a few state reps that do understand it, sadly, from a direct influence on their life. Uh, there is a representative from the Punxitawney area whose son died of a drug overdose and and points to his marijuana use as what started him down that path. Uh, he understands these harms. There's a representative, uh State Representative Craig Williams, uh, outside of Philadelphia, who took to the House floor when it came to the bill that you were mentioning, that there was one bill that was passed here in Pennsylvania, at least in the House of Representatives, uh, by party line. And he took to the floor to highlight how he spoke about losing his brother to addiction and the death spiral that happened starting in high school with smoking marijuana. And he absolutely points to how that influenced his trajectory to where it did end up in his 30s, losing his life to an overdose. And and so you see some of these families that do understand it because they've lived it. They've they've seen what this type of product does, what it does today. It's not the marijuana of 30 years ago, the potency levels, the THC contents, you know, what that is doing to make it beyond the quote unquote just the plant. You have these concentrates and edibles, and so many of what the industry has done with this that makes it so problematic. So I can certainly talk more, Christy. I don't know, you know, as we talk with families listening, uh, certainly there's legislation happening here in Pennsylvania. Yeah. And really there's two areas that are concerned when it comes to the proposals. You have the commercialization model that we see really in most states, where it's allowing you know, private entities, frankly, coming in, and it often is those large corporations that buy up small startups. And you know, you have the slew of the products and kid-friendly flavors, all those things. That's kind of that commercialization model. That's one proposal being brought here in Pennsylvania. The other is somewhat what unique here in our state would be a state store model. Uh, in terms of liquor sales, alcohol sales, uh, there is the liquor control board in our state, uh, where it's fine wine and spirits have their own storefronts where it's not just kind of a commercialization of anyone here in the state. And so the proposal there was to sell marijuana products for recreational purposes through a state store model. And those behind the bill, you know, say it's gonna help more for uh curbing the youth influence, kind of those that are uh able to prevent more youth use of this, uh, also to prevent those big corporations from coming in that it'd be kind of state-run. So there's there's kind of these conflicting models that have been proposed from those that want to see this industry kind of creep here into Pennsylvania. So uh we kind of stand there's there's threat in the Pennsylvania Senate in particular, and there's a bill, uh SB 120, uh, which would be the commercialization model. Uh it seems to be that is one. Certainly the industry is alive and well when you look at that bill. They don't want the state store model because they're not going to make as much money. And so the Senate Bill 120 probably has uh the most legs, I would say, when it comes to the potential for passing here in Pennsylvania. Okay. The senator in the Senate is Dan Laughlin. Uh, he has a committee that he runs that he could bring it up in his committee. And currently, right now in Pennsylvania, we we do not have a state budget passed for the year. So it constitutionally it should have been passed by June 30th. Uh, we often don't care about that deadline here in Pennsylvania, and so it's often a late budget.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

And this year it seems like there is quite the late budget. So that's a factor as well here in the state.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. So um I'd like to just interject briefly um about a couple of things. So, first of all, we talked about how medical is already legal, and this is addressing the recreational, and there's various different models. But again, I I just want to emphasize for our listeners that even the medical model, we all know that while it's it claims to be regulated, it is not truly regulated, and it is also not really medicine. And you do have a lot of legislators touting that message as well. And you have a lot of legislators. We actually met with some that are pro a medical model and the current commercialization model. And all of these models are detrimental to Pennsylvanians and to our youth, young adults, and anyone affected by the negative impacts of marijuana. So I want to say that. And and I also want to remind myself as well as listeners when we were at the Capitol in May, it was the state-run model that we were fighting at that point, correct?

SPEAKER_01:

Correct. Yeah. There was a it was House Bill 1200 that was really rammed through. It was ironically kind of providential, I would say, that our press conference was happening uh on that on a Sunday before that. They introduced this bill, which is is not a common thing to have on a Sunday afternoon introduce a bill. They moved it in committee on Monday, about 24 hours.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

And people were we didn't even know what the bill had because they didn't have time to read it. And they rammed it through so it did go to a floor vote. And so essentially within about a week's time, they they passed that bill in the House. But during that week, we did have that press conference. So I think what was helpful is this was something legislators were dealing with, especially in the House, right directly. And so we were able to speak into that directly. So it was great for families coming out to do this. It was the timeliness was great.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. And and I want to emphasize that we have parents on both sides of the coin here. We have parents who have suffered negative impacts from literally medical dispensary marijuana, as well as all the gas station and convenience store products that are rampant in Pennsylvania as well. In fact, one of our parents at the press conference actually brought products that he had purchased on his way to testify. And so, again, all of these products cause harm. So even the medical Delta IX products can cause young brains harm. And obviously, the Delta Eight and all those other hemp-derived analogs caused major harm. And there are tons and tons, tons of studies on both sides of the coin as well. And then I also just want to remind listeners that part of the promises here, again, to emphasize, were promising social justice, immense tax revenue, and a regulated market. None of those things have or can come to fruition. They just won't. There is no way to regulate this untested product that is not the weed of yesterday, like Dan said. You know, back in the day when when in the 70s, 80s, 90s, even when people smoked hot, admittedly, they smoked to get a high. And you got that high from one to five percent at the utmost, and you got a little bit of a buzz. And again, you were doing it to get high. Everybody knows that. Today, the claim is that this is medically helpful, cures everything. There are no uh you can get a medical card, and especially in Pennsylvania, because Dan mentioned that earlier too, and I want to emphasize that Pennsylvania is one of the worst states for this. There are doctors giving these medical cards out like candy on Halloween, and anyone can get them for something as simple as a hangnail, I like to say. Is like there are no restrictions on the reasons why you can get a medical marijuana card. You can also get them online by filling out forms. So it doesn't even matter what age you are, they're they're not overseeing that properly. And they never will. So I did want to mention that.

SPEAKER_01:

But I think if I, you know, even just point out there are investigations now, one is Spotlight PA, where I think you just can't deny that there's weak oversight in our medical program. There's just too many loopholes, there's just too much happening. And, you know, what has transpired even since the 2016 passage of this bill, there were certain conditions that you had to have a doctor give permission for to allow you to have a card. And since that time, we've allowed for chronic pain, we've allowed for anxiety. And how you define anxiety, who knows? And that's now the predominant condition that is given with regards to these cards. And so absolutely there's a lack of oversight. I think it's there are three doctors that have prescribed over 11,000 cards in a year. That's not care. There are several other doctors, you know, 5,000, 6,000, 7,000. You know, it's this is this is profit-driven care. That's not care. Yeah. And so it's just alarming, really, when you analyze the the current program. And really, it should make lawmakers say, hey, we need to pause and try to fix this versus, hey, let's just let the industry run with this and and use it from a recreational purpose. That's just obviously going to make it much worse.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. And in regard to the current bill, Dan wrote an incredible op-ed, you know, explaining the dangers of this bill. And so that is one of the biggest reasons I have Dan here today because I really want um Dan to go into the problems with this bill for us. And again, kudos to you for that, op-ed, because it was fantastic.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, thank you. So certainly, again, there are multiple proposals here in Pennsylvania that are looking to commercialize the recreational use of this drug. And it and it seems like this Senate Bill 120 uh might have the most threat in terms of seeing passage here in Pennsylvania. Uh so it underscores just again the need contacting state senator, state representative, uh contacting your reps to voice opposition to what is going on. But specifically with Senate Bill 120, I think you could argue it's the worst proposal in the country with regards to commercializing marijuana use. And a few examples of that. One is even just we often hear, okay, we want to regulate this so that packaging can prevent it from kids getting into it. Most states allow from concentrates, it's about 100 milligrams of THC. So the psychoactive component marijuana that creates the high, uh, the THC content. You know, some Michigan allows 200 milligrams, Vermont, Virginia have it at 50. So in general, no one's everyone's around 100. This bill would say it's a thousand milligrams per package. So you have a cookie or whatever kind of product can have up to a thousand milligrams THC. That's not keeping kids' safety in mind. That is profit right there. Another example, looking at the THC, is there are a few states that have started to cap potency. Uh with this bill that this bill does not cap any potency, but interestingly enough, if it is a 70% THC or more product, you have to label it as quote, high potency THC. I don't know where they got the 70%. I could see many saying 50%, 60% THC is high potency. So they're recognizing to some degree, okay, there is a difference with marijuana use in the terms of the THC content, yet they're going to allow any product to be out there and kind of just picking 70 as the okay, this is high potency. So it's just uh again, I don't know where they're getting their numbers, but yeah, it's the troubling fact of the matter of seeing the commercialized market just selling any types of products, and you have the 80%, 90% THC. I'll put an asterisk, we do have some of those products in our current medical program, which I think is problematic. Uh, there are the raspberry rain, you know, flavored vapes, 85% THC that are at our medical dispensaries that you just need a card to go in and be able to purchase. So, so again, there's a problem with our medical program on numerous fronts. But obviously, a commercialization recreationally is something that could you know expound upon this problem and do it from a recreational purpose. So the THC contents, particularly with SB 120, uh, are just very problematic. I'd say another aspect of this bill, you know, most states that have passed from a recreational standpoint allow local municipalities to opt out, to say, I don't want this sold down the road from my home. And majority of municipalities opt out in Colorado, New Jersey, a variety of states. This bill would prevent any municipality from opting out. You would not have the opportunity for your local government to say, we don't want this sold here. There, you you can have it where maybe it's you know two blocks away from a school. Uh, there's there's some of those parameters, but you cannot prevent a pot shop selling high potency THC products, recreational use from doing that in your community. You would you would be hand tied if this bill in its current form passes. So, so again, you know, obviously you getting uh the state involved in profiting from more tax revenue by more marijuana being bought is problematic. So just the whole commercialization bill, like a Senate Bill 120, uh, I would suggest obviously is very problematic, inviting the industry to set up their addiction for profit setup. But certainly some of those THC, the lack of potency limits, uh, the the astronomically high packaging limit for THC contents, thousand milligrams, and then forcing your township to have to do this, those are pretty extreme. And really, when I look at it, it's the industry writing this bill. Frankly, if I'm a senator, it's asking the industry, what do you want? And it's pretty much allowing everything that they would want. And I don't think that's keeping the best interests of Pennsylvanians in mind. So certainly, yeah, the Senate Bill 120, I would say, is is the one to point to just especially because the industry is all behind it. So certainly something to get in touch with your senator about in opposing Senate Bill 120 and really any proposal that looks to profit off of this type of harmful industry.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep. And tell us please, do you you currently have an action that Pennsylvanians can participate in to oppose this measure?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, we certainly are talking with communities across Pennsylvania to voice concern, voice opposition to what is happening. And so uh one, you can find it. It's our website, pafamily.org, uh is our organization, Pennsylvania Family Institute. Uh it's particularly also there's a variety of information at pafamily.org backslash truth on weed. There's some action alerts, some ability for you to just kind of put in your information uh to allow you to know who your state senator, state representative is, to send an email to them, uh, but also some additional resources. And I'd also highlight uh along with the learnabout SAM and everything that Smart Approaches to marijuana does, uh, there's there's another site called truthonweed.com that has just a variety of information just to look at the variety of harms that come with marijuana use, that comes with the legalization and normalization really of this drug. Right. And so there's some resources there. But first and foremost is yes, certainly becoming aware of some of these proposals here in Pennsylvania and connecting with your state senator, your state representative, voicing your concern over this is what's needed. The lobby's certainly doing that. The lobby is right here in Harrisburg. Uh, there was there were a few hearings recently on the issue, and the public seats were full of the guy, the men in suits. And I recognize many that are being hired by these lobbyists. You have marijuana policy project, uh, you have the industry, uh, there's a coalition that the industry has bought and paid for. So there's just many that are over at the Capitol lobbying your state senator, your state representative, to do this. And so it just underscores the need for us to speak out.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep. And while we have many Pennsylvania parents as members of Pan, we would love more. And again, we can easily connect those of you listening with your state senators. You can contact us or your district senators, I should say, and we will and your representatives and we will uh hook you up with them at Pan. And then between Dan and myself, we communicate regularly. Um, if you're interested in getting in more involved and participating in those direct advocacy campaigns and anything else we plan for the future to address this, possibly another press conference, please just reach out to me at Chrissy at learnaboutsam.org. And Dan, if you'll tell us your email as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, absolutely, yeah. Connect in again, websites pafamily.org. Uh, folks can get in touch with me at uh if for email debart at pafamily.org. Uh happy to help connect you with your elected officials. And it's really what is is needed. Obviously, your own elected officials are representing you, uh, but also those that have stories to tell, that are seeing this. I mean, I've I've talked with superintendents that they pull out a drawer and here's all the vape pens uh that they have. And obviously, a commercialization of this drug is going to make that worse. And I think even outside of Pennsylvania, people telling those stories. I know that there's uh the superintendent in Detroit, Michigan, that highlights ever since the legalization and commercialization of this drug for recreational purposes, uh, they've seen their kind of drug-related incidents skyrocket. Right. You know, from what was 200 for a few years is now 1800 uh in a few years. So just seeing the problematic aspects of allowing this drug to be sold commercially, recreational use, it has those types of ripple effects. And so the more we can tell stories, even outside Pennsylvania, I appreciate hearing what is the impact because we can then show here, we don't want this to happen in our state, or at least happen to more families in our state. And so the ability for us to share the impact that we're seeing of this drug, uh, if we're seeing of that commercialization, the marketing and advertising. I mean, I point to New Jersey. There was uh a shop that was doing pumpkin carving, you know, as a contest and using Disney characters. I mean, who's that appealing to? Oh my God. So it's those types of things that I think we can share that can help at least our elected officials understand the real harms.

SPEAKER_00:

Right.

SPEAKER_01:

We have in our state what's unique in Pennsylvania, different from Florida, some other states in terms of a ballot referendum. Uh, we have in our state essentially you do need to go through our our state rep state senators. And so it's all the more need to make sure they are informed and see the realities of the bill, making sure that they know that you're going to be forced to have a pot shop in your neighborhood if this is passed, you know, that provision in the bill. So making sure they're aware of the content of the bill, but also just overall what the harm is with marijuana use and the commercialization of this drug. Uh again, I've I've had a state rep that at a press conference talked about, you know, we know that marijuana is not dangerous, it's not addictive. The only thing at risk with legalization are potato chips to just kind of get a laugh because, you know, you get the monkeys. And it's just, it's just not an understanding of today's marijuana. It's an understanding that you're more looking at the industry and the profits you can make through that versus actually what this is going to do to people in their district. And so again, I think communicating with your state senator, your state representative is critical.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. Thank you so much, Stan, for your time and for sharing this information with us. I really appreciate it. Is there anything else you'd like to add?

SPEAKER_01:

I I think again, it's feeling, you know, those that would say, well, you know, understanding the issue when it says legalize marijuana in our state. You know, I think sometimes people might think, well, I don't want to throw somebody in jail for you know using marijuana, so we might as well legalize. Or I want to make sure medical is is done. And so, yes, we should legalize marijuana. It's understanding what we're talking about. I think the need to say medical is an area that I think needs improvement. Let's have that discussion there. If there's areas of our criminal justice system that need to be discussed, okay, let's have that discussion. That can be outside of a discussion of the recreational use, the commercialization of this drug. And so know that I think majority of Pennsylvanians don't want to have a pot shop in their neighborhood. Right. Uh, I think you see so many industries, you see law enforcement, you see drug and alcohol groups uh that are opposed to the commercialization of this drug. So I think knowing that there's a variety of people that are on the side of saying we want public health and safety the priority.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

That together we can have a voice speaking against this. And ultimately, yeah, again, since it's our elected officials, uh, they can say no to this. They can say no to the industry, no matter what they say, the millions of dollars that they're gonna spend. Uh, our elected officials can say no, I'm gonna put public health and safety as a priority. I'm gonna put my constituents as a priority uh and voting against this. So I think the more we can speak into that, the better. So certainly it's it's picking up the phone. It is scheduling a visit in their district office, getting some of your friends, your neighbors along with you to uh just share your concerns. That is going to build the momentum that pushes against this happening in Pennsylvania. And I underscore again, this can happen. Again, we're in a budget battle here. I think we can get through the budget without a marijuana legalization bill. And I think we can push back, you know, throughout this session. We're in a two-year legislative session. If more people speak out and point out those real harms, you have more families that are courageous enough to speak out about the real harms that they've seen in their families. The more that happens, the more that we can say, you know what, this isn't going to happen in Pennsylvania.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. I think that is a great note to end on. Again, Dan, thank you so much for taking the time from your very busy schedule to be here for the Fortitude Podcast. And as I mentioned, I'm going to spend the month of August interviewing all of our Pennsylvania advocates. And we're going to use the Fortitude Podcast as a platform to get this message out to legislators through social media. So please, if you're interested in joining Pan, uh just reach out to me at Chrissy, C-R-I-S-Y at learnaboutsam.org. Again, thank you, Dan, for being here. And we'll see you on the next episode.