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Lt. Gov. Fetterman Cuts Ribbon On Medical Marijuana Dispensary While On Recreational Cannabis Listening Tour

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NEW KENSINGTON (KDKA) -- With the help of his wife Giselle, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman cut the ribbon at the region's newest medical marijuana dispensary, Cresco Lab's CY+ in New Kensington.

"My wife might be the first customer today," Fetterman said. "She's a card holder of medical cannabis for chronic pain. We support what Pennsylvanians support, and that's medical cannabis."

But Fetterman is now on a state-wide listening tour, going to all 67 counties, to gauge whether Pennsylvanians are ready to embrace recreational marijuana, too.

"One thing I do know about my listening tour, it really is just a listening tour," Fetterman said on Monday. "It's not like, hey let's make this happen."

Although the Lieutenant Governor favors legalizing and taxing recreational cannabis, Governor Wolf has been hesitant.

Still, Wolf supports Fetterman's effort to explore the issue around the state, and Fetterman sees a parallel with the state's belated acceptance of medical marijuana.

"Pennsylvania wasn't always there with medical marijuana, and now I haven't heard anything other than good things," Fetterman said.

As for recreational cannabis, the Lieutenant Governor says he's been getting opinions from both opponents and proponents at his county meetings.

"The feedback was thoughtful on both sides, the pros and the cons were both incredibly thoughtful, and they offered their own reasons as to why they support it or why they aren't there," Fetterman said.

But even in the state's most conservative Republican counties, Fetterman says he finds support for legalizing marijuana.

"We have not had a room that was more con than pro," he said. "The closest one was Warren County, and I would say that was right around 50-50, maybe a slight edge, maybe, to pro, all the way up to overwhelmingly [pro] like Erie or Harrisburg have been overwhelmingly in favor of it."

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