Pennsylvania’s Senate Democratic Policy Committee will hold a public hearing Friday examining adult-use marijuana legalization, with discussion expected to focus on criminal justice reform, public safety, enforcement and the economic implications of establishing a regulated market.
The committee has scheduled the hearing for September 25 at 1 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Philadelphia. It will be hosted by committee Chair Senator Nick Miller alongside Senator Sharif Street.
Titled “Adult-Use Cannabis: Criminal Justice, Safety & Economic Impacts,” the hearing will examine what the committee describes as modernizing Pennsylvania’s adult-use marijuana laws.
According to the committee, lawmakers and witnesses will discuss “enforcement and safety needs, social and economic considerations,” as well as ways to incorporate meaningful criminal justice reforms into legalization legislation. The hearing will be streamed live through the Pennsylvania Senate.
Street has worked for multiple legislative sessions to legalize recreational marijuana and is a sponsor of Senate Bill 120, a bipartisan legalization proposal introduced with Senator Dan Laughlin.
The bill would legalize marijuana possession and use for adults, establish a Cannabis Control Board, regulate marijuana businesses and testing, impose sales and excise taxes and create provisions for clearing certain marijuana-related criminal records.
Senate Bill 120 was referred to the Senate Law and Justice Committee in July 2025. A resolution seeking to discharge the measure from the committee was presented in June, but the legislation has not received a Senate floor vote.
The September 25 hearing comes months after Gov. Josh Shapiro again included adult-use marijuana legalization in his 2026-27 budget proposal. The proposal called for legalization effective July 1, with regulated sales beginning January 1, 2027, and projected more than $200 million in annual tax revenue once the market was fully established.
The hearing will immediately follow a separate event being held as part of Philadelphia’s ninth annual Cannabis Opportunities Conference.
