Gov. Evers proposing decrim, medical cannabis as part of his budget 

Last update: February 19, 2019

Gov. Tony Evers’s first-ever budget as governor includes a bold vision to improve Wisconsin’s marijuana laws. The budget will propose decriminalization and expungement, along with a comprehensive medical cannabis program.

That’s where you come in: Write your assemblymember and senator to ask them to support Evers’ proposal and to push for it to get a vote.

There are some hurdles advocates will have to overcome to make his proposal law: Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R) is opposed, and while Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) said he is “open to medical marijuana when it is prescribed by a doctor,” he claims Evers’ proposal goes too far.

Meanwhile, in November 2018, around a million Wisconsin voters approved advisory questions on their ballots calling for more humane marijuana laws.

More than half of Wisconsin’s population saw cannabis-related measures on their ballots, and every single one of the measures passed. Medical cannabis questions received between 67% and 89% in the 11 counties and two cities where they appeared. Adult-use questions garnered between 60% and 76% of the vote.

During the same November election, in neighboring Michigan, voters overwhelmingly approved legalizing and regulating marijuana for adults 21 and older.

Let your state legislators know you want the legislature to finally listen to voters on medical cannabis. It’s past time Wisconsin roll back its cruel and wasteful war on marijuana.

Medical marijuana update

Wisconsin is also becoming an anomaly when it comes to compassionate medical cannabis legislation. Thirty other states, including Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan, have enacted effective medical marijuana programs. But in Wisconsin, the only progress that has been made is a very limited law focused on a non-psychoactive component of marijuana, CBD.

On April 17, 2017, Gov. Scott Walker signed Act 4, which expanded the state’s previous limited medical cannabis law, Lydia’s law, enacted in 2014. The original law allowed patients with documentation of a seizure disorder to possess CBD treatments, but it did not legalize the production of CBD products in the state. Act 4 expanded the program to protect all patients who possess CBD and have a letter from their physician. Unfortunately, it remained illegal to produce or distribute CBD products. Sen. Chris Larson and Rep. Jimmy P. Anderson introduced legislation (S 104/A 158) that would allow state-licensed businesses to produce and dispense CBD treatment products.

In late 2017, the state enacted a pilot program to license industrial hemp production, which seemed to provide a potential means of access. However, in April 2018, Attorney General Brad Schimel issued a memo saying licensed hemp producers could not extract and sell CBD oils from the plants. While he rescinded the memo in May 2018, some uncertainty remains and sales have not begun.

Meanwhile, there are a number of “CBD” products available online or in stores, but these products are typically unregulated, and consumers should be cautious. Unfortunately, some products do not actually contain the amount of CBD on the label — or any at all — or they may also contain THC or dangerous compounds such as heavy metals. CBD oil sold in licensed cannabis retailers in states like Colorado, with a regulated market, are subject to laboratory testing, but getting to such stores could be costly and onerous for patients in Wisconsin.

Ask your lawmakers to support a compassionate, comprehensive medical cannabis law.

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