Wisconsin Democratic Governor Tony Evers said last week that he can support a medical marijuana legalization bill, acknowledging that more comprehensive cannabis policy reform is unlikely to be approved by the state’s Republican majority legislature. 

Evers has long supported legalizing recreational marijuana and has twice included plans to regulate and tax adult-use cannabis in state budget proposals. But Republican leaders in the state legislature have resisted calls to legalize recreational cannabis and declined to approve the governor’s proposals.

Late last month, Republican leaders announced their intention to introduce a limited medical marijuana legalization bill in this year’s legislative session. On Wednesday, Evers said that he could potentially support the legislation, although he made it clear he preferred a broader marijuana legalization plan.

“I would think that getting it all done in one fell swoop would be more thoughtful as far as meeting the needs of Wisconsinites that have asked for it,” Evers said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But if that’s what we can accomplish right now, I’ll be supportive of that.”

In a separate interview, Evers clarified that he would support a clean medical marijuana legalization bill that avoids controversial provisions in order to make progress on cannabis policy reform this year.

“Yes I would [be supportive] if there’s no poison pills,” Evers told local media.

“Do I think we need to consider recreational marijuana? Of course,” the governor added. “I’ve been for it, so are a majority of the people [of] Wisconsin, but if this is a step in the right direction, let’s make it happen.”

GOP MMJ Legalization Bill Coming Soon

Republican lawmakers have been working on a medical cannabis legalization bill behind closed doors for months. In December, Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said that the bill would be ready for the chamber as soon as this month. He added that he believes the Republican majority could approve the bill without support from Democrats seeking broader cannabis policy reform measures.

“We have a bill that we’ll introduce in January on medical marijuana,” Vos told reporters. “Our caucus has spent a lot of time reaching a consensus among itself to make sure that we knew we had 50 Republican votes to be able to pass it. Because unfortunately my Democratic colleagues have said if we don’t go full recreational marijuana they’re not interested.”

Vos said that the bill would be limited and modeled after the medical marijuana program in neighboring Minnesota before the state legalized recreational marijuana last year.

“It is not going to be widespread,” Vos said in an interview cited by the Associated Press. “We are not going to have dispensaries on every corner in every city.”

Wisconsin has become an island of marijuana prohibition as neighboring states Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota all legalized cannabis for adults over the past few years. Republican lawmakers acknowledge that some Wisconsinites believe it is time for their state to catch up.

“People have been frustrated because they think it took us too long,” Vos told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Well, because it took us a long time to reach consensus. Because part of the problem that I fear is that Democrats want everything or nothing.”

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said there is a chance that a medical marijuana legalization measure could gain the support of a majority of the state’s lawmakers in the upcoming legislative session.

“Depending on how that … bill is drawn up, there’s a potential of getting it through both houses, but I don’t know,” LeMahieu said. “I think they’re just working through the details. So if they get on the same page, then potentially.”

Democratic Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer said Democrats in the legislature were open to discussing the GOP medical marijuana legalization plan.

“We hope that it’s a serious proposal from our colleagues that addresses the past harms that have been caused by the criminalization of marijuana and that really allows access for the people who need it,” Neubauer said last month.

More Proposals Pending

Other proposals to reform cannabis policy in Wisconsin are already pending in the state legislature. In September, Democratic state Senator Melissa Agard introduced a bill to legalize recreational marijuana. She said last month that she might support a more limited bill that only legalizes medical marijuana, but “I remain skeptical as to whether or not this is it,” adding her offer to help Republicans with the legislation was rejected.

Additionally, a bipartisan group of Wisconsin lawmakers last month introduced a bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. The legislation, which was unveiled by the legislators earlier month, would end criminal penalties for possession of up to half an ounce of marijuana, making such offenses punishable by a fine of up to $100. Those convicted of simple marijuana possession would no longer be subject to time behind bars. 

Cannabis policy is widely supported by Wisconsin voters. In a recent Marquette Law School Poll, 64% of adults surveyed supported legalizing marijuana in Wisconsin. In 2019, the poll found 83% said they were in favor of legalizing medical marijuana.

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Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin are now “close” to supporting legislation to legalize medical marijuana, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said last week. Support for legalizing medical cannabis signals a change in stance for Republican legislators in Wisconsin, who last year opposed a medical marijuana bill that was supported by Democrats including Governor Tony Evers.

LeMahieu, who has opposed liberalizing Wisconsin’s cannabis laws, told reporters that he believes a medical marijuana bill could be passed by the state’s lawmakers this legislative session. But he noted that the success of the proposal would depend on having a bill that restricts the use of medical marijuana to patients who are experiencing serious chronic pain.

“Our caucus is getting pretty close on medical marijuana,” LeMahieu told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Thursday. “A lot of our members, who are maybe at a point where they can vote for it now, they just want to make sure it’s regulated well.”

“We don’t want people going in because their back hurts and getting medical marijuana,” he added. “It needs to be cancer pain, you know — prescribed.”

Change In Republican Stance

LeMahieu’s comments indicate a significant change in position for Republican leadership in the state Senate. Both LeMahieu and former Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald have been vocally opposed to legalizing marijuana. In 2021, LeMahieu said he would not support legalizing medical marijuana unless the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved cannabis as a prescription drug. 

But opposition to medical marijuana legalization has not been unanimous among Republican state lawmakers in Wisconsin. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, also a Republican, has shown support for legalizing cannabis for medicinal use. Although a spokesperson did not confirm that Vos supports Republican efforts this year, LeMahieu said that he thinks the proposal “could be” supported by Assembly Republicans in 2023.

Republican state Senator Mary Felzkowski said last week that she plans to reintroduce legislation that would create a medical marijuana program that is tightly controlled by the state. Under the proposal, only cannabis preparations such as tinctures, liquids, pills, and topicals would be legalized for use by patients in the state-run program.

At a hearing on the previous bill in April 2022, Felzkowski said that she became interested in medical marijuana in 2014 after going through treatment for stage 4 breast cancer. She noted that the drugs she was prescribed to fight her cancer caused excruciating pain that could only legally be relieved with highly addictive opioids. 

“We are actually having those conversations right now — I can’t talk in for-sures, but will be reintroducing the bill,” Felzkowski said.

Last year’s proposal to legalize medical marijuana in Wisconsin died in the state legislature after failing to gain the support of Republican lawmakers. The bill was also opposed by the Wisconsin Medical Society, which cited a lack of research to support using cannabis medicinally.

“Until science can determine which elements in grown marijuana are potentially therapeutic and which are potentially harmful, any ‘medical’ marijuana program is at best a pale imitation of true medical therapies developed through scientific research,” Mark Grapentine, chief policy and advocacy officer for the medical professionals trade group, wrote in a memo to Felzkowski in April.

Strong Support For Cannabis Reform In Wisconsin

But public support for marijuana policy reform is strong in Wisconsin. A Marquette University Law School poll published in October showed that 64% of Wisconsinites support legalizing cannabis for any use, while a separate survey conducted in 2019 showed that 80% are in favor of legalizing medical marijuana. 

Democratic state lawmakers in Wisconsin have so far led the drive to legalize marijuana in the state. Evers, who has long supported cannabis policy reform as the state’s governor, plans to include a legalization proposal in the state budget for this year, just as he did in 2021.

“Wisconsinites overwhelmingly support a path toward legalizing and regulating marijuana like we do alcohol while ensuring folks can access the life-saving medication they need,” Britt Cudaback, a spokeswoman for the governor, said in a statement. “As Gov. Evers indicated on Tuesday, he’s looking forward to working together with legislators on both sides of the aisle this session to find common ground on this important issue.”

Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard has led several proposals to legalize marijuana from Wisconsin Democrats that have been thwarted by Republican lawmakers. She said that she looks forward to seeing the details of the medical marijuana legalization proposal from Senate Republicans. 

But Agard said that she disagrees with selecting “winners and losers” whose chance of using medical marijuana depends on what kind of pain is arbitrarily included as a qualifying condition to participate in the program.

“I will always be a champion for full legalization of cannabis in Wisconsin,” said Agard. “I know that’s what a majority of people in our state want and we know the most dangerous thing about cannabis is that it remains illegal.”

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