Pennsylvania remains a holdout when it comes to legalized marijuana sales.

There are differing – and legitimate – arguments on both sides of that argument. But, frankly, the tired old arguments of whether or not Pennsylvania should legalize marijuana sales are beside the point today. The fact of the matter is that the actions of New York state, which legalized marijuan sales, and Pennsylvania, which has not legalized marijuana sales, have put Warren County and similar counties in Pennsylvania in a no-win position.

Consider a recent traffic stop in Youngsville. A Seneca woman was on her way back from a roughly 90 minute trip from her home to New York state to purchase some of the Empire State’s legal marijuana. She was pulled over around 9:30 p.m. on West Main Street in Youngsville after officers saw her vehicle with an expired registration, smelled marijuana coming from the car and began an investigation. The woman said she had purchased four ounces of marijuana in New York and was then found with cocaine and crack cocaine in her purse. She’s still in the county jail after being unable to post $50,000 unsecured bail.

It’s entirely possible another police jurisdiction would have dealt with the Seneca woman at some point. But the lure of New York’s legal marijuana prompted a 90-minute drive that ended up with a traffic stop in Youngsville – and Warren County taxpayers on the hook while the legal case is dealt with or the woman is able to post bail.

We aren’t saying Pennsylvania is right or wrong for not approving legal marijuana. We are saying the situation puts an additional burden on our local police and courts as they deal with the New York policy by enforcing Pennsylvania’s laws. In cases like the ones Warren County is seeing, it’s local taxpayers who end up on the hook. This is one reason why a national solution would have made sense – but the Republicans and Democrats who comprise our national governing class aren’t too great at solutions these days. That means piecemeal solutions that are a real pain on border regions like ours.