HARRISBURG — Pro-cannabis interests spent at least $1.6 million lobbying the Pennsylvania legislature in 2024 as lawmakers weighed a legalization scheme that could see major profits for existing dispensaries and growers.

The legalization debate continues this year. In his latest budget pitch, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro called on the legislature to allow recreational cannabis sales to adults, promising the move would bring the state $1.3 billion in desperately needed revenue in the first five years.

Shapiro needs a majority of lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled state House and GOP-led state Senate to get on board.

There appears to be robust support in the lower chamber, though Democrats are still working to reach a consensus on how the state should structure the industry.

But in the upper chamber, many lawmakers — including key members of Republican leadership — have expressed reservations, citing health and public safety concerns.

That lack of support hasn’t stopped legislative cannabis supporters from offering different visions for legalization.

Some House Democrats want recreational cannabis to be sold through new state-owned stores, as Pennsylvania does with liquor. They say this method will allow the state to collect more revenue and prevent a handful of corporations from dominating the industry.

In the state Senate, a bipartisan duo has pitched allowing existing medical sellers to expand into the recreational market. Just over 40 companies operate 186 medical dispensaries in Pennsylvania, and collectively sold nearly $7 billion worth of product from 2020 through the end of 2024.

Expansion into the recreational market is expected to continue growing those companies’ returns. So with big money at stake, major, multistate cannabis sellers such as Trulieve and Cresco Labs spent tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying to influence the debate in 2024, according to a Spotlight PA analysis of public disclosures.

The analysis included over two dozen companies and trade associations that produce or sell cannabis or advocate for legalization. The companies registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State to lobby in the health care, agriculture, or cannabis-related industries.

In total, the 26 companies included in Spotlight PA’s analysis spent over $1.6 million on lobbying in 2024. The majority of the spending, over $800,000, came from cannabis companies that operate across the country; 19 already have a presence in Pennsylvania in the form of retail operations or products on shelves.

While disclosure forms show how much lobbyists spent, they do not detail which lawmakers or pieces of legislation were targeted, nor do they describe in detail how lobbyists spent the money.

Spending generally falls into a few key categories: gifts to lawmakers, direct communications, and indirect communications. Direct communications appeal to lawmakers to take legislative or administrative action, while indirect communications may include organizing letter-writing campaigns and phone banks on specific issues.

The biggest spender was Trulieve, which cultivates cannabis and operates dispensaries in nine states. It spent over $​​210,000 on lobbying. Of that total, $165,000 was spent on direct communications and $45,000 was on indirect communication.

Lobbyists for Trulieve did not respond to requests for comment regarding those activities.

No. 2 among the spenders was the Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition, a trade organization that represents medical marijuana permit holders. It spent $171,720 on lobbying in 2024.

Meredith Buettner, the group’s executive director, said the spending indicates the scale of the state’s “rapidly expanding cannabis industry.” She added that the coalition advocated for “modernization to the medical marijuana program,” and “advancing adult-use legislation.”

“PCC’s lobbying expenditures align with those of industries of similar scale in Pennsylvania,” Buettner said in a statement to Spotlight PA.

Chris Goldstein, a Pennsylvania-based advocate with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said he wasn’t surprised that established cannabis companies that operate in many states did most of the spending.

He said he’s seen many companies seek “first mover advantage” — the leg up that comes from being the first player ready to operate in a new market — as legalization spreads nationwide. Goldstein said that first access is particularly desirable for cannabis sellers, as they can often open up shop before lawmakers enact more regulations.

State Sens. Dan Laughlin (R., Erie) and Sharif Street (D., Philadelphia) introduced legislation last session that would give medical sellers that head start.

The bill would have permitted existing medical dispensaries to sell to recreational customers within six months, even if regulatory guidelines for the new industry were not yet established, in exchange for a $25,000 licensing fee.

Medical dispensaries would also have been allowed to seek a new recreational permit for each existing medical one, potentially doubling their sales capacity. Only four new sellers would be able to get permits to begin selling recreationally.

Laughlin told Spotlight PA he plans to reintroduce a legalization bill in the new session, but did not say whether it would resemble the previous version.

Patrick Nightingale, a criminal defense attorney and medical marijuana advocate, noted that the political landscape around marijuana has changed significantly since he was advocating for medical cannabis legalization in 2016.

“Grassroots activists are not running the show here; this is something that paid lobbyists are heavily invested in,” Nightingale said. “I don’t think we’re the ones getting the ball across the goal line.”

Goldstein said it made sense to him that cannabis companies were willing to spend a couple hundred thousand dollars to gain first access to an industry that is likely to yield hundreds of millions in profits every month — if recreational sales mirror Pennsylvania’s medical sales.

“I think they’re getting a really screaming deal here,” Goldstein said.

Lobbying isn’t the only way the cannabis industry is spending money in Pennsylvania. Corporate executives for cannabis companies donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to lawmakers’ campaign funds in 2024.

Benjamin Kovler, CEO and founder of Chicago-based cannabis retailer and cultivator Green Thumb Industries, contributed $45,000 to Pennsylvania’s highest-ranking lawmakers last year.

The bulk of his contributions, $25,000, went to Shapiro. The remaining funds were split evenly between state House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery) and Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland.)

Other Green Thumb Industries employees also contributed to Pennsylvania politicians.

Anthony Georgiadis, president of Green Thumb Industries, contributed $10,000 apiece to state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R., Indiana) and Laughlin, a longtime cannabis advocate who chairs the influential Law and Justice committee.