Government officials say the strangest things. One minute they purport to oppose cannabis freedom, the next minute they call for an “honest look” at the status of the legality surrounding the plant medicine. A perfect example of this type of head-scratching flip-flopping is Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolfe (D), who recently claimed he supports an honest evaluation of recreational cannabis in the Keystone State while answering taxpayer questions on his Twitter account.
During a recent question and answer session on Twitter, Governor Wolf said, “More and more states are successfully implementing marijuana legalization. It is time for Pennsylvania to take a serious and honest look at recreational marijuana.”
Curious, indeed, Governor. Just who would be the perfect person to lead the charge for such an “honest” look? Surely it couldn’t be the governor, could it? Wolf went on to claim that he thinks Pennsylvania could learn from states that have legalized cannabis for recreational purposes.
Naturally, Wolf went on to place responsibility upon his political opponents, just as most politicians do, adding that legalizing cannabis for adult recreational use would require action by the majority legislature, which is currently a Republican majority.
These comments made by Wolf are in opposition to the stance he has taken since he’s been in office. Wolf has repeatedly said that he supports medical cannabis, but not recreational.
“There are, what, six states that have legalized recreational marijuana in the United States. I don’t think the citizens of Pennsylvania are ready for it, and so the answer I would say is no,” Wolf said during an August interview with Pittsburgh’s KDKA 1020.
To his credit, Wolf did sign Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis law in 2016 and has been in office during its implementation. Recently, the state Department of Health announced it would reconsider its relatively restrictive medical cannabis program to include more qualifying conditions and perhaps involve doctors in the process more.
This isn’t the first time recreational cannabis has been discussed by a state official. A bill was recently introduced by Rep. Jake Wheatley (D-Hill District) to legalize recreational cannabis. Possession of cannabis for non-medical reasons is still a crime in the Keystone state, but Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and several other cities have decriminalized the plant medicine.
Only time will tell what happens with recreational legalization in Pennsylvania, but hopefully Governor Wolf is starting to see the many benefits that it has to offer the state.
