The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee recently voted in favor of a bill that would, if cleared by the Pennsylvania State House and Senate, lower the legal penalties for those charged with the possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana from that of a third-degree misdemeanor to a summary offense allowing up to a $300 fine and no jail time.

This hurdle marks another step in the decriminalization of cannabis in the Keystone State.

Governor Tom Wolf has already made his support for marijuana decriminalization public.  His final signature on this bill could pave the way for more action from our state legislature to end the modern-day prohibition of cannabis in Pennsylvania.

Wolf voiced his opinion on this topic last spring with a tweet stating, “I support decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana. [We] shouldn’t focus on incarcerating people for possession of small amounts of marijuana.”

This statement should serve as a staple for the legality of marijuana in Pennsylvania, and while just earlier this year, Wolf made a point during a radio interview that while not contradictory of his previous beliefs, does pose more questions in regard to the future for fully legal cannabis under a Wolf administration.

Wolf stated that while he does believe in the legality of medical marijuana, he doesn’t believe that the citizens of Pennsylvania are ready for recreational use of the substance. Wolf said he believes that we should further review the effects and consequences of other states progress in recreational marijuana and use their examples to gauge the possibilities of recreational use in Pennsylvania.

In 2014, the city of Philadelphia officially decriminalized marijuana possession and the city’s arrests for marijuana possession declined 75 percent according to Philadelphia police. Philadelphia’s mayor has previously voiced his progressive belief in the recreational use of marijuana.

Pittsburgh, the next Pennsylvania city to decriminalize cannabis, did so in 2015, and now the entire state may adopt the same legal measures.

With more and more states taking action on ending the prohibition of cannabis, Pennsylvania may be one of the next to influence the nation’s future for legalizing marijuana.