Despite the growing number of states that have legalized recreational marijuana, county leaders and residents are torn on whether the substance should be available to adults.

With five of the six states that border Pennsylvania having legalized recreational marijuana — West Virginia being the exception — there are still many concerns revolving around the benefits and possible downfalls of legalizing the narcotic.

“Do I think that it could have positives? Yes. Do I think that there’s a ton of negatives? Not necessarily,” said Amy Hanusak of Butler Township. “I feel that people who use it already are going to use it regardless of what the law is.”

Gov. Josh Shapiro advocated for the legalization of marijuana in his budget address Feb. 6 and a recent study by Franklin & Marshall College shows 63% of registered voters believe recreational marijuana should be legalized in the state.

State Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-8th, said the legalization of recreational marijuana would not bring nearly as much money to the state as suggested, while increasing the level of government involvement in local businesses.

“The data does not support that, because the state will spend so much money regulating it,” Bernstine said. “While there may be an increase in revenue through taxation, there is a significant amount of money that is then used to regulate. It will just expand the role of government.”

Bernstine also said he had concerns about the effect the legalization of recreational marijuana would have with businesses. Marijuana would still be illegal on the federal level, which could cause headaches, and possible missed opportunities for local business, he said.

“You can’t bank with those funds, you can’t deposit money because it would still be a Schedule I narcotic,” Bernstine said. “It should be handled at a federal level,” Bernstine said. “It could have serious ramifications for business as a whole.”

Michael Croop, of Butler, said he’s worried marijuana may cause nuisances for the county.

“I mean, I don’t want to smell it,” Croop said. “It stinks, and you can tell when someone is smoking it. I don’t want kids to be around it and if it’s legal how can you avoid it?”

In total, there are 24 states that will have legalized recreational marijuana. The most recent state to legalize recreational marijuana is Ohio, where voters approved it in a ballot proposal on Nov. 7.

“We’re losing out on an industry that, once fully implemented, would bring in more than $250 million in annual revenue,” Shapiro said in his address last month. “And our failure to legalize and regulate this only fuels the black market and drains much needed resources for law enforcement.”

Chris Lindsey, the director of state advocacy and public policy for the American Trade Association for cannabis and hemp, has been working on legalization laws throughout the country since 2006.

Lindsey said the sale and distribution of marijuana already has a market, and the lack of legalization allows that market to have a “regulatory framework.”

“Your marijuana consumers in the state probably don’t have any problem getting a hold of marijuana, but unless they’re crossing state lines and buying in one of your legal neighbors, they are participating in an illicit system.”

According to the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System, in 2023 in Butler County, four adults were charged with the “sale and/or manufacturing” of marijuana and 214 adults were charged with possession.

The same report shows three juveniles were charged with the “sale and/or manufacturing” of marijuana and 17 juvenile were charged with possession.

Across Pennsylvania, 1,583 adults were charged with “sale and/or manufacturing” of marijuana and 22,489 adults were charged with possession.

Lindsey said legalizing marijuana would give the state an opportunity to regulate the cannabis market, which would not only cut down on arrests that can “jam up the judicial system,” but would also make the cannabis market safer for consumers.

“(Legalizing marijuana) is an opportunity for the state,” he said. “You get with that features of a regulatory program where the state knows what’s in the products, allows testing on products. It allows the state to package items with labels that reflect what they can contain, and the state can limit who has access, in particular, limit sales to minors or those under 21.”

In Butler County Sheriff Mike Slupe listed the potential negative impact on youth among his top concerns related to the legalization of recreational marijuana. He said such a change would allow easier access to cannabis and open opportunities for other crimes such as theft, public disorder and other related controlled substances crimes.

“Law enforcement continues having issues surrounding these crimes,” Slupe said. “I’ve read studies where it increases juvenile arrests.”

A year after Oregon legalized recreational marijuana, crime allegation rates increased 28% among all youth and 32% among cannabis-using youth according to the Oregon Public Health Division and Multnomah County Health Department.

A number of studies throughout the 24 states that have legalized recreational marijuana had mixed results when it came to crime rates.

Three studies conducted between 2019 and 2023 indicate inconsistent impacts related to the nonmedical use of marijuana.

A 2023 study from the National Library of Medicine suggested minimal decreases for substance-use related arrests in adults, but the findings “were not consistent across the two studies examining arrest-rates in youth.”

A 2021 study from the CATO institute also found inconsistency in linking marijuana use with violent crime.

“While violent crime in Maine and Nevada decreased by 90 and 178 crimes per 100,000 compared with the national trend post‐​legalization,” the report stated. “The violent crime rate in Alaska and Massachusetts increased post‐​legalization by 152 and 57 (crimes per 100,000) more than the national trend.”

The study concluded “violent crime has neither soared nor plummeted in the wake of marijuana legalization.”

In similar fashion, a 2019 study from the University of North Carolina found that state-level research suggested cannabis decriminalization and legalization have little impact on the general crime rate, and in some cases led to a decrease in crime rates.

According to taxfoundation.org, states collected nearly $3 billion in marijuana tax revenue in 2022, and the nonprofit organization estimated nationwide legalization could generate $8.5 billion annually for all states.

However, Lindsey said state legislators should exercise caution when deciding who can operate a recreational marijuana dispensary. Some states operate under an open system, which allows for less regulations on who can sell recreational marijuana, while others offer a cap system where the number of licenses are limited.

“(Businesses) had to work really hard to look appealing to the decision-makers,” Lindsey said of the cap system. “You end up with companies that have very high levels of competency … This is usually in conjunction with a high standard for operations.”

Lindsey said Illinois allows only a certain number of licenses to sell recreational marijuana and the cost to get a licenses in Illinois can be “very expensive.”

Butler County Chamber of Commerce president Jordan Grady said while medical marijuana has seen a shift away from local ownership, he hopes that if the state were to legalize marijuana there would an “encouragement of local growing efforts and entrepreneurial opportunities.”

“It would be essential to actively disseminate relevant information to local entrepreneurs,” Grady said. “My concern lies in the potential similarity between the processes for operating recreational facilities and medical ones, which could eliminate opportunities for local ownership and, more crucially, local accountability.”

“Should legalization occur, we will diligently follow established rules and regulations, positioning ourselves to capitalize on any potential opportunities that may arise,” he said.