One of my favorite things about the craft beer boom over the last 10-15 years is that it has allowed for so much creativity. There are an ever-growing number of IPAs out there, I am partial to hazy and New England styles, and every different brewery will have its own unique spin. This leads to breweries becoming destinations worth visiting and generates an increase in businesses surrounding the brewery, with older buildings being repurposed. The craft brewing industry has generated hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars for the economy. Pennsylvania ranks near the top in the nation for economic impact generated by craft beer, and yet we do not do the same for cannabis.

Five of our six bordering states have already legalized recreational use, and those states are not just receiving the tax revenue and jobs created. In fact, hundreds of millions of dollars in potential tax revenue from Pennsylvanians goes to these states. I want Pennsylvania to have a thriving craft cannabis industry to go hand in hand with our craft beer industry. Locally owned, operated, and sourced Pennsylvania Craft Cannabis. Businesses that become part of our local community, not dominated by out-of-state mega-corporations or restricted to state-run stores.

We can use this increase in tax revenue to fund our most underfunded schools, fix our roads, provide broadband internet to communities without, and so much more.

I frequently mention that we always need to be looking to other states to see different solutions to the issues we all face. States like California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey have systems that help local businesses. Using their data compared with HB 1200, HB 20, and my desire for a "craft-like" system, the following suggested framework was developed.