On July 12, Pennsylvania enacted a $50.8 billion budget without Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposal to legalize adult-use marijuana
The final budget deal left out recreational cannabis legalization and taxation. In late September, the state's top Senate Republican said he doesn't expect legalization before the current session ends.
On July 12, 2026, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Pennsylvania's $50.8 billion budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, and the final deal did not legalize recreational marijuana, according to Spotlight PA. Spotlight PA reported that the budget also left out new recurring mass transit funding and a minimum wage increase, which Shapiro and other Democrats had called for. The main spending bill passed the Republican-controlled state Senate 44-6 and the Democratic-controlled House 167-35, Spotlight PA reported.
Shapiro's proposals to legalize and tax recreational marijuana and to regulate skill games as ways of adding revenue were left out of the final agreement, WHYY reported. The enacted budget is roughly $2.4 billion smaller than the plan Shapiro unveiled in February, according to WHYY.
Before signing, Shapiro said, "There's a whole lot more that I want to do, that I'm going to do," naming the minimum wage, mass transit and affordable housing, according to Spotlight PA.
Later developments: at a press conference on Sept. 28, 2026, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, a Republican, said of legalization, "I don't see it coming before this session ends," and added, "I think we would all be well served to have some more national direction on how to deal with this issue," Marijuana Moment reported. Pittman also criticized a House-passed bill from last year that would have put marijuana sales in state-controlled stores. The same report said the Democratic speaker of the state House had said the state could legalize recreational marijuana next year if Democrats win a Senate majority in the November election, and that Republican gubernatorial nominee Stacy Garrity has pledged to veto a legalization bill.
Current status: as of Oct. 18, 2026, Pennsylvania has not legalized adult-use cannabis; its medical cannabis program continues. News searches on Oct. 18 found no later legislative action on legalization.
This report summarizes published reporting and is not legal advice.
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Pa. adopts $50.8B budget that sends more money to poorest schools, skips difficult policy questions
- Publisher
- Spotlight PA
- Author
- Stephen Caruso and Jaxon White
- Published
- Jul 11, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- PA
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Authorship signal — The article explicitly lists Stephen Caruso and Jaxon White as the credited authors.
Pa. Gov. Shapiro signs 'compromise' state budget
- Publisher
- WHYY
- Author
- Carmen Russell-Sluchansky
- Published
- Jul 13, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- PA
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- No active alert
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Authorship signal — The article explicitly lists Carmen Russell-Sluchansky as the credited author.
Top Pennsylvania GOP Senator Says State Needs 'National Direction' Before It Can Legalize Marijuana
- Publisher
- Marijuana Moment
- Author
- Tom Angell
- Published
- Sep 30, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- PA
- Severity
- No active alert
- Retrieval
- HTTP 200
Authorship signal — The article explicitly lists Tom Angell as the credited author.
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