The state Senate shot down legislation that would have banned intoxicating hemp products and set up a cannabis control board to assume oversight of the state’s medical marijuana program.

The bill’s prime sponsor, Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, called the defeat a “missed opportunity.”

The bill was defeated by bipartisan opposition in a 29-21 vote, although only Democrats criticized the bill during the debate before the vote.

“Pennsylvania is choosing to leave intoxicating ‘gas station weed’ completely unregulated,” Laughlin said. “That means no testing, no oversight, no age checks and no real accountability. It preserves a system where these products can be marketed like candy and sold wherever a transaction can take place.”

Laughlin pointed to a 2024 incident in Erie County in which a young woman who had been vaping a THC product crashed while driving under the influence, killing a 17-year-old passenger.

“This is not just happening in Erie County,” he said. “This is happening in every corner of the Commonwealth.”

Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, said the legislation is unnecessary and the state should be moving toward setting up a program to allow adult recreational use of marijuana.

Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program is overseen by the Department of Health. Under Senate Bill 49, oversight of the medical marijuana program would shift to an independent board appointed by the governor and legislative leaders. The governor would have three appointments to the board and the head of each caucus would each have one.

Costa said that there is no obvious reason to believe that a cannabis control board would be any more popular than the Department of Health’s oversight has been. The state Liquor Control Board and the Gaming Control Board are not universally popular, he said.

Laughlin, who is majority chairman of the Law and Justice Committee, has introduced legislation that would allow adult recreational use of marijuana. However, he noted that this bill is a more modest proposal aimed at tackling what he described as the “regulatory blind spot” that allowed intoxicating hemp products to become widely available around the state.

Under the legislation, intoxicating hemp-derived products, including THCA and similar cannabinoids, would fall under the oversight of the Cannabis Control Board and be subject to clear rules for testing, labeling, age restrictions and enforcement.

Those convicted of illegally selling intoxicating hemp products would face a $10,000 fine. In addition, the legislation would empower the attorney general’s office to seize illegal hemp products.

Similar intoxicating hemp bans are being enacted in states around the country, including bans that went into effect in Ohio and Texas in March. California, Montana, South Dakota, Alabama and New Jersey also have hemp bans.