A Pennsylvania lawmaker announced last week that he intends to introduce legislation to decriminalize cannabis possession during the upcoming legislative session. Democratic state Rep. Danilo Burgos circulated a co-sponsorship memo seeking colleagues to support the measure, which would end criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana.

In the memo, Burgos noted that the upcoming bill would cover offenses that make up the vast majority of marijuana criminal cases.

“In the U.S., more than 90 percent of cannabis-related arrests are due to cannabis possession alone,” he wrote in the memo, which was first reported by online cannabis news source Marijuana Moment. “Low-level cannabis convictions potentially cause lifelong consequences as a result of the criminal convictions they carry.”

Burgos, a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, also noted some of the challenges faced by individuals with a criminal record, even for minor offenses such as cannabis possession. The lawmaker also alluded to data that show stark racial disparities in the enforcement of the nation’s cannabis prohibition laws.

“These consequences can include difficulty finding housing and employment among other unfair barriers,” he said. “Furthermore, the prosecution of these crimes disproportionately affects people of color.”

The memo notes that under current Pennsylvania laws, those convicted of cannabis possession face misdemeanor charges that require penalties including a fine of up to $500 in addition to a maximum of up to 30 days incarceration. The notice also outlines key provisions of Burgos’ upcoming cannabis possession decriminalization bill, which he plans to introduce for the 2025-20256 legislative session beginning next month. Under his bill, those convicted of possessing a small amount of cannabis would be guilty of a summary offense and face a fine not exceeding $100, with no possibility of incarceration.

Burgos said that his upcoming bill represents a “vital step in reforming our criminal justice system and reducing racial disparities” and invited his fellow lawmakers to cosponsor the legislation to “create a more equitable criminal justice system and ensure taxpayers dollars are no longer wasted on low-level cannabis offenses.”

Weed Legalization Bill Also Coming Next Year

The proposal from Burgos is less ambitious than the comprehensive cannabis legalization plan from two of his Democratic colleagues, Reps. Rick Krajewski and Dan Frankel. Earlier this month, the two lawmakers issued their own co-sponsorship memo seeking support for a bill to legalize cannabis possession for adults and establish a regulatory framework for sales of recreational marijuana.

Frankel and Krajewski, who led several hearings on cannabis reform during the past legislative session, said their plan would create a regulated market focused on public health, raising revenue for the state and supporting those harmed by decades of marijuana criminalization.

“As a state that continues to criminalize recreational cannabis, Pennsylvania is now an outlier—24 states have legalized the practice, including 5 of the 6 states that border Pennsylvania,” the legislators wrote in the co-sponsorship memo.

“But legal or not, Pennsylvanians are consuming marijuana, whether by visiting our bordering states, buying unregulated hemp loophole products at gas stations and vape shops, or purchasing in the illicit market,” they continued.

The memo, which invites fellow lawmakers to join Frankel and Krajewski in sponsoring the upcoming bill, maintains that decades of cannabis prohibition have failed to keep Pennsylvanians safe.

“Prohibition is a failed policy with significant consequences to our Commonwealth,” the memo reads. “It has ruined lives over minor cannabis offenses, disproportionately impacting Black and Brown communities. Consumption of unregulated and dangerous products has increased. And we are losing millions of public revenue that our communities need.”