Boxing legend Mike Tyson fights for cannabis legalization in Pennsylvania

Boxing legend Mike Tyson brought the fight for cannabis legalization to the Pennsylvania Capitol on Wednesday, where he met with state lawmakers to make the case for legalizing the drug for recreational use. 

Tyson, who owns a cannabis company called Tyson 2.0, spoke on the need for cannabis legalization following his meeting with lawmakers, stressing the need for safe, regulated cannabis products. 

“I’m here actually about the safety component of cannabis,” Tyson told reporters, adding that his top goals in the cannabis policy space are “rescheduling cannabis and making it safe” for consumption. 

Tyson also suggested that cannabis has helped him distance himself from other recreational drugs. “It changed my whole life. I don’t use cocaine anymore. I don’t drink anymore. I don’t use any other kind of drugs that have me going and becoming ‘Crazy Mike,”’ he said. 

Tyson and representatives from Tyson 2.0 said they met with Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward – the top Republican in the state Senate – earlier in the day. Ryan Burke, the president and CEO of Tyson 2.0, said Ward is “highly intelligent on this matter.”

“Sen. Ward seems very open, but also very cautious, knowing that the medical program wasn’t rolled out as well as it could have been,” Burke said. “She also noted that her caucus is very, very cautious to this matter in particular.”

Tyson told reporters he planned to meet with Gov. Josh Shapiro later in the day to discuss legalization. 

In response to a question from City & State about the effects legalization could have on the state’s economy, Tyson suggested that it could create hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs – potentially up to 500,000 – in the Keystone State. 

Tyson also provided a glimpse into conversations he’s had with President Donald Trump on the issue of legalization.

“I spoke to the president about this,” he said. “One particular time he actually called me and discussed to me about the rescheduling of it.”

Tyson previously expressed support for a bipartisan proposal in the Pennsylvania Senate – sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Sharif Street and Republican state Sen. Dan Laughlin – that would legalize cannabis for recreational use.

Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program was signed into law in 2016, but the state has yet to legalize it for recreational purposes. Nearly all of the commonwealth’s geographic neighbors – Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Ohio – have legalized recreational cannabis, with West Virginia being the lone exception.

Burke said Pennsylvania’s delay in legalizing recreational cannabis could give the state an advantage in developing its own law. 

“Pennsylvania is actually at an advantageous state, because you’re able to look at a blueprint of states that have rolled out recreational programs, and most of them have done a bad job,” he said. “So being behind the line, and instead of out in front of this rapid change throughout the country, in my opinion, is actually advantageous for Pennsylvanians, because they can write policy that hopefully will actually become a blueprint to the federal level.”