For more than a decade, the Wisconsin Legislature has been where marijuana reform bills go to die. But a new bill to legalize some forms of medical marijuana, introduced by a pair of Republican lawmakers instead of the usual cohort of Democrats, may fare differently. At the very least, the new medical marijuana proposal may mean that the Wisconsin GOP’s brick-wall opposition to marijuana legalization is beginning to crack.
GOP Lawmakers Hope to Begin Hearings on Medical Cannabis Bill Next Month
In Wisconsin, public support for medical marijuana legalization is significant. At 83 percent, according to an April poll conducted by Marquette University Law School, more people back medical cannabis than ever before. Support for full legalization has even tipped the scales into the majority, at 59 percent according to the same poll.
But neither strong public support nor Democrats’ persistent efforts have been able to budge Republican lawmakers on the issue of marijuana reform. The GOP in Wisconsin won’t even get behind decriminalization efforts.
But in a region that has moved decisively into the legal cannabis industry, with neighboring states Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois having legalized medical cannabis and Michigan and Illinois recent legalization recreational cannabis, attitudes may be shifting among some GOP lawmakers in Wisconsin.
But certainly not all GOP lawmakers. As recently as September this year, Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald dismissed the idea that a legalization bill would pass the GOP-controlled Senate. “Everyone knows that medical marijuana leads to legalized marijuana,” Fitzgerald said.
Indeed, the Senate GOP have prevented progress on both Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ medical cannabis proposal from earlier