Republicans’ Medical Marijuana Bill Is Likely Dead
Election-year proposal doesn't find support in Senate.
The restrictive bill, which was unveiled by lawmakers in January, would instruct the state Department of Health Services to operate five dispensaries across the state where registered patients with a qualifying medical condition could obtain medical marijuana products.
“I think it’s unlikely that it’s going to pass this session unfortunately,” Vos said during a Thursday press conference. He said he thought there was still support for the bill in the Assembly, but that “we see that the Senate wants to have a more liberal version than the one that we’re willing to pass.”
Some Senate Republicans took issue with the state-run dispensary aspect of the bill, saying that they thought a medical marijuana program would be more effective if it was run by the private sector. Democrats also expressed concerns that the proposal was too restrictive.
Vos said the bill would still receive a public hearing but not before the Assembly adjourns for the year. He added that the hearing would be meant to help build support for the bill for the next session.
Wisconsin remains an outlier in the U.S. by not having any program legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational use. Most neighboring states, including Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois, have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use.
According to a recent Marquette Law School Poll, 86% of registered voters in Wisconsin support legalizing medical marijuana.
Medical marijuana likely dead this session, according to Assembly Speaker was originally published by Wisconsin Examiner.
More about the Legalizing of Marijuana
- A Better Wisconsin Together Renews Call for Cannabis Legalization - A Better Wisconsin Together - Apr 20th, 2024
- Republicans’ Medical Marijuana Bill Is Likely Dead - Baylor Spears - Feb 18th, 2024
- The State of Politics: Why GOP Divided on Medical Marijuana - Steven Walters - Jan 15th, 2024
- Bill Decriminalizes Marijuana Possession Under 14 Grams - Rich Kremer - Jan 15th, 2024
- GOP Proposal Supports Small, State-Run Medical Marijuana Program - Anya van Wagtendonk - Jan 8th, 2024
- Senate Democratic Leader Reacts to Republican Medical Marijuana Proposal - Dianne Hesselbein - Jan 8th, 2024
- Democrats Push Again to Legalize Marijuana - Erik Gunn - Sep 25th, 2023
- Senator Agard: Response to Speaker Vos’ Medical Marijuana Comments - State Sen. Melissa Agard, Senate Democratic Leader - Apr 20th, 2023
- State Residents Paid $36 Million in Illinois Marijuana Taxes in 2022 - Isiah Holmes - Mar 20th, 2023
- Wisconsinites Paid over $36 Million in Taxes to Illinois on Cannabis Purchases - State Sen. Melissa Agard, Senate Democratic Leader - Mar 16th, 2023
Read more about Legalizing of Marijuana here
Wississippi. We are an idiot state surrounded by fiscally intelligent states; states Wisconsinites travel to and leave millions of tax dollars that are spent on marijuana. That money could be staying here. Pothead could help fix our potholes. But no! We have to take the “moral high ground.”
Average annual cost to Wisconsin drivers for driving on roads in poor condition: $550 in automobile repairs
Money lost in tax dollars because we won’t legalize it: est. $166 million
Tax dollars Illinois made from Wisconsinites purchasing marijuana: $36 million. (That’s JUST Illinois!)
We stupid!