Governor Tony Evers (D-WI) is preparing for a potential battle with the Republican-run Wisconsin Legislature over the legalization of recreational marijuana.
Evers is gearing up to present his biennial budget requests to lawmakers in February and has said there is “no question” he will ask the legislature to permit adults to use cannabinoid substances for fun as he did in his most recent budget proposal earlier this year.
Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia broadly permit adults to use non-medical cannabis, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Another 16 states have comprehensive programs regulating pot’s medical use. Wisconsin is in a group of 10 states that allow limited medical use of substances with low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the component of marijuana that primarily impacts brain function.
Minnesota is among the states with comprehensive medical cannabis programs, but Democratic Governor Tim Walz suggested this month he believes broader legalization will happen in his state in May. In that event, all of Wisconsin’s neighboring states, except Iowa, would have legal markets for marijuana.
State agencies encouraging Evers to fight for weed legalization include the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and the State Public Defender. Those departments also indicated they hope the governor will attempt to enact a medical marijuana program at least if the push for recreational weed fails.
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Burlington), however, told members of the press he thinks the governor is asking for too much when he asks for legislators to back recreational marijuana. Vos observed that many GOP lawmakers had shown an interest in supporting a medical-cannabis program but surmised that negotiations over such a policy should break down if Evers attempts to secure full-scale legalization.
“If he really wants to generate consensus, he needs to get off his liberal bandwagon and start by saying where can we generate consensus, and that’s not by pitching the farthest extreme position,” Vos said.
Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna) has nonetheless predicted recreational weed legalization is “likely” to happen in the future irrespective of how the matter gets resolved this year.
A poll released this summer by Marquette Law School indicated 69 percent of Wisconsin voters support making marijuana use licit for adults.
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Bradley Vasoli is managing editor of The Wisconsin Daily Star. Follow Brad on Twitter at @BVasoli. Email tips to [email protected].
