If recreational marijuana becomes legal in Pennsylvania in the near future, its roots could be traced back to Pittsburgh.

State Rep. Jake Wheatley (D-Hill District) plans to introduce a bill to legalize the sale and purchase of marijuana throughout Pennsylvania. And not just medical marijuana, which has been sold since February, but recreational marijuana. This bill, if enacted into law, would also expunge criminal records for marijuana related crimes that would become legal under the new law.

“States from coast to coast have embraced legalization and those states are reaping the economic and criminal justice benefits,” Wheatley said in a July 25 statement. “It is time Pennsylvania joins with those states in leaving behind the ugly stigma of marijuana.”

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, a pro-legalization advocate, recently released a report estimating the state could see $580 million in annual revenue through marijuana legalization. Nine states and Washington D.C. have passed laws legalizing marijuana. Washington state brought in $319 million in revenue in 2017 thanks to its legal-marijuana program.

A Franklin & Marshall College poll from September 2017 showed 59 percent of Pennsylvanians approve of legalizing recreational marijuana. Local elected officials like Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and Braddock Mayor and Lt. Gov. candidate John Fetterman are also supportive of legal marijuana. [Read more at Pittsburgh City Paper]