Wisconsin’s new Democratic governor, Tony Evers, announced Tuesday his plans to include the initial steps of cannabis legalization in his state budget proposal for 2019. Speaking before Wisconsin Technology Council board members, Gov. Evers responded to a question about his views on cannabis. Evers said he personally favors adult use legalization, echoing Minnesota’s new governor, Tim Walz.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers “Personally Would Sign” a Cannabis Legalization Bill
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers supports cannabis legalization. At the same time, he doesn’t want to rush the process. In response to a question about his views on marijuana, Evers expressed an interest in taking incremental steps toward a full adult-use industry in Wisconsin.
Evers said his first steps would be to work toward medical cannabis legalization. That’s something that Wisconsin can accomplish legislatively, and Gov. Evers could kickstart that process by including medical legalization in his two-year budget proposal. Taking a longer view, Evers said his administration would push for a statewide voter referendum on full legalization. Wispolitics.com reports Evers told Technology Council board members that he “personally would sign that bill,” but just wants “to make sure we do it correctly.”
“Correctly,” of course, has meant different things to different legislatures and offices of the governor around the country. For Gov. Evers, correctly appears to mean, with an emphasis on small businesses and social justice.
Gov. Evers Wants to Avoid Corporate Takeover of Cannabis in Wisconsin
A followup question from Milwaukee lawyer Alexander Pendleton prompted the governor to reveal more of his views on the “right way” to legalize cannabis. Pendleton posed the question of legalization from criminal justice and budgetary perspectives. And in response, Evers agreed that “marijuana connects all the dots.”
Evers went