Legal Status in Wisconsin
Wisconsin prohibits marijuana but allows hemp-derived products; CBD is legal under specific regulations.
Odds of marijuana legalization in Wisconsin
Wisconsin's new legislative session brings fresh discussions on marijuana legalization. Lawmakers face mounting public support while balancing medical and recreational proposals, seeking common ground in this evolving debate.
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MADISON, Wis. — With a new legislative session underway in Wisconsin and plenty of new faces on the floor, there is another opportunity for marijuana legalization to make its way into the agenda.
Last week, when the governor unveiled his spending priorities for the next two years, the package unsurprisingly included marijuana legalization again.
Though that is all but certain to be stripped from the budget, there could be a bigger conversation at some point this session.
What You Need To Know
- Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are “hopeful” they can reach a compromise on medical marijuana this session
- The governor’s Budget in Brief outlines a plan to “legalize, regulate, and tax the sale of marijuana for recreational use, much like Wisconsin already does with alcohol”
- Last year, Assembly Republicans rolled out a smokeless medical marijuana proposal with state-run dispensaries
The governor’s more than 160-page Budget in Brief outlines a plan to “legalize, regulate, and tax the sale of marijuana for recreational use, much like Wisconsin already does with alcohol.”
While Republicans will undoubtedly remove all policy from the budget, narrower majority-minority margins this session might lead to some discussion this year.
“I don’t think anyone is naive enough to think that marijuana and THC products aren’t present in the state of Wisconsin when they are readily available over state lines, so I think we need to come to an answer on this. I’m hopeful that we can.”
— Assembly Majority Leader Rep. Tyler August, R-Walworth
Last year, Assembly Republicans rolled out a smokeless medical marijuana proposal with state-run dispensaries.
However, not everybody in the party was on board with the idea of the state being in business.
“I do not want to see state-run dispensaries. The state should not be in the business of selling basically anything except for state-run things. Marijuana is not one of those things, If we’re going to call it medical marijuana, it needs to be treated like a pharmaceutical. But the marijuana debate is going to be something that is not going to go away. The margins are tighter.”
— State Sen. Dan Feyen, R-Fond du Lac
Democrats picked up 14 seats in the Legislature during the last election in November.
Those numbers could be enough to put pressure on some lawmakers, unlike in the past.
“Marijuana legalization is incredibly popular in Wisconsin. We saw that as local communities were passing referendums on medical and recreational marijuana, and I just think having 15 members in the State Assembly who are in very close seats means that people are just going to be listening.”
— Assembly Minority Leader Rep. Greta Neubauer, D-Racine
Most Democrats would rather have full legalization but know that’s a non-starter with the Republican majority, so medicinal is most likely, if anything.
“I’ve had proposals for years. Speaker Vos had a very interesting bill last time that I wasn’t in favor of. So, [I’m] hoping maybe we can work together and merge some okay ideas to actually get medicinal marijuana to the state of Wisconsin. I’m hopeful; we really are in a desert of nowhere.”
— Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton
A Marquette University Law School poll last year found that 86% favored legalizing medical marijuana with a doctor’s prescription.
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