Cannabis reform could arrive in nine states this year. Yet some remain far more likely than others to make it a reality.

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A federally recognized tribe concentrated largely in the Great Lakes region announced last week that it will decriminalize cannabis.

“The Ho-Chunk Nation recognizes that marijuana and its derivatives are natural growth plants with medicinal and industrial applications,” the tribe said in a statement, as quoted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Indigenous people have used marijuana and hemp for hundreds of years for a variety of purposes and the Ho-Chunk Nation acknowledges its functional purpose.”

Rob Pero, founder of the nonprofit Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association, called it “a historic day for Ho-Chunk.”

“We commend their commitment to increasing accessibility to plant medicine. … They are building an environment now, before prohibition ends, that will position them to lead the industry, create sustainable economic opportunity and improve the health and wellbeing of our people,” Pero said, as quoted by the Journal Sentinel.

“Tribes are able today to self-determine their interests in cannabis and the complex landscape requires the navigation of local, tribal, state and federal policy,” Pero adde. “We see the reclassification empowering tribes to engage meaningfully throughout the supply chain, from farming to processing to retail and more, as well as to facilitate interstate nation-to-nation commerce.”

The Ho-Chunk Nation reportedly made the announcement on April 30. According to Wisconsin Public Radio, it means that cannabis will be decriminalized on tribal lands “and Ho-Chunk police will not issue citations for possession.”

What it does not mean, however, is that marijuana is legal there. Wisconsin Public Radio noted that “tribal law experts advise the drug is still illegal,” and that an “FAQ distributed within the Ho-Chunk nation indicates county or state police could still issue citations.”

“Wisconsin is one of six states that has criminal jurisdiction over Native Americans on reservation land under a law known as Public Law 280. The law applies to all federally recognized tribes in Wisconsin except for the Menominee, which is under the jurisdiction of the federal government,” the public radio station said, adding that it “could make it difficult to set up businesses that cultivate or sell cannabis for medicinal or recreational purposes” and that it “could even deter customers who now travel to neighboring states where cannabis is currently legal.”

According to its official website, the Ho-Chunk Nation legislature “is comprised of four branches of government; executive, legislative, judicial and the general council,” which are “made up of 13 representatives called Legislators from four districts, who can serve up to two terms of four (4) years.” Three of the four districts are in Wisconsin, with the fourth covering all districts outside Wisconsin.

Both medical and recreational cannabis are illegal in Wisconsin –– one of the few remaining states with total prohibition on pot. 

A Republican-led effort to pass a medical marijuana bill in this year’s legislative session failed in February. 

The proposal “drew opposition for being too conservative in severely limiting who could have access to medical marijuana and how it would be distributed, while others faulted it for not going far enough,” according to the Associated Press, which added that Republicans in the Wisconsin state Senate “objected to having state-run dispensaries, while Democrats pushed for full legalization.”

Democrats in the Badger State, including Gov. Tony Evers, has been an outspoken supporter of marijuana reform, pushing Wisconsin lawmakers to legalize both recreational and medical cannabis.

Evers said in January that he backed the GOP medical marijuana measure, even though it wasn’t as comprehensive as he would prefer. 

“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 at the time. “But if that’s what we can accomplish right now, I’ll be supportive of that.”

Wisconsin could be losing out on precious tax revenue due to its ongoing prohibition. An economic analysis released last year found that neighboring Illinois, where marijuana is legal, has received millions of dollars from cannabis shoppers crossing the border from Wisconsin.

Ho-Chunk Nation leaders said that they anticipate the tribe “entering the cannabis business once it becomes legal in the state,” according to the Journal Sentinel.

The newspaper said that “tribal law experts say there’s still a legal question about whether tribal nations can allow cannabis sales on federal trust reservation land — land that isn’t subject to local jurisdiction or taxes but still must abide by federal law.”

“The only way to do that would be on tribal trust land/Indian country land, and since federal law still bans cannabis, no, there’s no way,” Matthew Fletcher, a law professor at the University of Michigan told the newspaper. “That doesn’t mean tribes won’t do it, but they are at the complete mercy of the whims of the federal government’s decision to prosecute or not. It’s no way to do business. Same is true even if the state makes it legal.”

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A Republican-led proposal to legalize medical cannabis in the state officially died on Thursday, and although the GOP speaker of the assembly indicated that “there will still be a public hearing to build support for passage next session,” per the Associated Press, that “won’t occur until after the Assembly has adjourned for this year.”

Wisconsin is one of the few remaining states in the U.S. where neither medical nor recreational marijuana are legal. It is one of only 12 states with no medicinal law, and one of 26 that has not legalized recreational pot, according to The Center Square, an outlet that covers state-level politics.

The medical marijuana bill was “highly restrictive,” the Associated Press said, adding that the measure “drew opposition for being too conservative in severely limiting who could have access to medical marijuana and how it would be distributed, while others faulted it for not going far enough.”

The bill, pushed by GOP lawmakers who control both chambers of the state legislature, “would limit medical marijuana to severely ill people and allow for it to be dispensed at just five state-run locations,” while also banning smokable cannabis.

“The proposal would limit the availability of marijuana to people diagnosed with certain diseases, including cancer, HIV or AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, severe muscle spasms, chronic pain or nausea, and those with a terminal illness and less than a year to live,” the Associated Press reported.

This year’s legislative session in Wisconsin ends next week.

Democrats in the Badger State, including Gov. Tony Evers, have advocated for outright marijuana legalization. 

Evers said last month that he would support the Republican-backed medical marijuana proposal, suggesting that it could be a meaningful first step toward broader cannabis reform in Wisconsin.

“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 at the time. “But if that’s what we can accomplish right now, I’ll be supportive of that.”

“Do I think we need to consider recreational marijuana? Of course,” Evers 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.”

Indeed, Evers, currently serving his second term as governor, has long been an outspoken champion of ending prohibition on pot.

Evers and other Wisconsin Democrats have contended that the state is losing valuable tax revenue to neighboring states in the Great Lakes region that have legalized adult-use marijuana. 

An economic analysis released last year found that Illinois, which began recreational pot sales in 2020, rakes in tens of millions of dollars a year from Wisconsinites who travel across the border for legal weed. 

“It should upset every Wisconsinite that our hard earned tax dollars are going across the border to Illinois. This is revenue that could be going toward Wisconsin’s public schools, transportation infrastructure, and public safety. Instead, Illinois is reaping the benefits of Republican obstructionism and their prohibitionist stance on marijuana legalization,” Melissa Agard, at the time the Democratic leader in the Wisconsin state senate, said in a statement following the release of the analysis.

“We are an island of prohibition and the people of our state are hurting because of it. As seen in our neighboring states, legalizing marijuana for responsible adult usage will generate significant revenue for our mainstreets, safely regulate the existing illicit market, reinvest in our agriculture and farming heritage, support entrepreneurship, and address the massive and egregious racial disparities from marijuana prohibition.”

Agard noted that “Wisconsinites paid more than $31 million – just in taxes – to Illinois in 2022,” and that the state’s “loss of potential revenue is even larger if we include taxes paid to Michigan, as well as Minnesota in the near future.”

“Republicans’ continued refusal to legalize marijuana is fiscally irresponsible…Wisconsin is losing out on significant tax dollars that could be used to make our communities stronger, safer, and healthier,” she said.

“The fundamental aspect of our job as legislators is to listen to the people we represent. The people of Wisconsin have been asking the legislature to take up common sense measures that will push our state forward. We know that legalizing cannabis for responsible adult use is wildly popular among Wisconsinites, including the majority of Republicans,” Agard added. “I fully support Governor Evers’ 2025-25 biennial budget proposal to fully legalize marijuana for responsible adult use, and if Republicans choose to remove it from the budget, I will once again introduce my bill to achieve this goal.  It’s high time we get this done for the betterment of our state and the people living here.”

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A CBD flower with citrus and cookie notes, and sativa pep.

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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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A hemp-based battery manufacturing company is coming to a town in Wisconsin with a goal to hire former employees of Energizer.

Portage, Wisconsin-based Wisconsin Battery Co. (WinBat) makes batteries out of hemp instead of graphene, for use in devices like hearing aids. Earlier this month, WinBat announced that it has acquired 17 acres of land in the Portage Industrial Park to develop its battery plant. According to a Dec. 21 press release, development will focus on:

• Industrial batteries: Creating energy storage solutions that enhance the efficiency and reliability of solar and wind power systems and maximize efficiency of connections to the grid.
• Hemp carbon batteries: Innovating a sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries by utilizing hemp carbon as a key component. These batteries will offer improved energy density, longer lifespan, reduced environmental impact, and utilize domestically produced raw material thus addressing the national security risks associated with global lithium sourcing.

WinBat CEO Jeff Greene said Portage will serve as an ideal place to build a new renewable energy battery power plant, given the skill set that former Energizer employees already possess.

“Obviously having 400 to 500 trained employees that are knowledgeable in the battery makes that area seemed right for a new battery company,” Greene told WMTV. “Most of the folks we’ve talked to, cautious optimism is kind of where we’ve gotten them to. They had fear and I think we’ve turned that fear into cautious optimism.”

The Wisconsin Battery Co. is a research, development and manufacturing company owned by the Sustainable Communities Corp., which is dedicated to advancing energy storage solutions that contribute to a more sustainable and clean future.

Greene said he got the idea when he was lobbying for a Florida-based hemp company that asked him to find the top five ways in which hemp fiber could be best used. “The people (in Portage) have been fantastic,” he said. “We have asked and received tremendous support from the people helping us. I am very blessed that the response has been so exciting.”

Gaining Local Support in Portage

The company gained local support. The City of Portage supports the goal to move forward with the plan. At a Dec. 7 Common Council meeting, city officials gave Greene 90 days to come up with a building plan.

Portage Mayor Mitchel Craig is cautiously optimistic, after Energizer decided to leave Wisc

“This is going to be huge for the city of Portage,” Craig said of the new plant that’s planned to open in the city. “The Energizer plant employed 225 people, and it is projected that within six years they will have 600 people working at this new facility.”

Wisconsin Battery Co. will focus development on the production of hemp carbon batteries as a sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries as well as the production of industrial batteries, which make energy storage solutions for solar and wind power systems more efficient and reliable.

The company plans to grow and hire 600 employees within the first six years of operation. Their goal is to start where Energizer left off, creating batteries to be used in hearing aids. The long-term goal is to produce two innovative batteries that will offer improved energy density, longer lifespans, and reduced carbon footprint.

More information will become available in the upcoming months. Greene and Mayor Craig will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2024, in Portage, where they plan to share more information about the project.

The company is focusing operations in Portage now, but will consider building another plant in Fennimore, where Energizer is also closing down another manufacturing plant.

Why Hemp for Batteries?

“Nothing outlasts the Energizer,” but hemp may do exactly that: Hemp advocates say that hemp batteries last eight times longer than lithium batteries, outperforming graphene for a fraction of the cost. Battery makers process hemp’s woody pulp, formint it into carbon nanosheets, which they used to build supercapacitors that behave better than graphene, the industry gold standard

Much of the energy used to extract and process battery components like lithium comes from CO₂-emitting fossil fuels.

The “Hemperor” has been telling us about these benefits all along, which also apply to the manufacturing of batteries. “Government and oil and coal companies, etc., will insist that burning biomass fuel is no better than using up our fossil fuel reserves, as far as pollution goes; but this is patently untrue,” Jack Herer wrote in The Emperor Wears No Clothes, citing several sources.

“Why? Because, unlike fossil fuel, biomass comes from living (not extinct) plants that continue to remove carbon dioxide pollution from our atmosphere as they grow, through photosynthesis. Furthermore, biomass fuels do not contain sulfur. This can be accomplished if hemp is grown for biomass and then converted through pyrolysis (charcoalizing) or biochemical composting into fuels to replace fossil fuel energy products.”

Replacing graphene for use in batteries is just another way hemp can be used for more sustainable energy. 

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The legislation, co-sponsored by Republican and Democratic lawmakers, would create “a new separate nonlapsible trust fund designated as the medicinal psilocybin treatment fund and establishes a pilot program to study the effects of medicinal psilocybin treatment on patients with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD),” according to a summary of the bill.

The bill would require the pilot program to be established by “the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in collaboration with that institution’s Transdisciplinary Center for Research in Psychoactive Substances and its School of Pharmacy.” 

“The individuals eligible to participate in the pilot program must be veterans who are 21 years of age or older and who suffer from treatment-resistant PTSD. Individuals who are law enforcement officers are not eligible to participate in the pilot program study. The psilocybin therapy provided by the pilot program must be provided through pathways approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration, and the research accomplished in the pilot program may be accomplished in conjunction with other medications approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration,” the bill’s summary reads. 

“The board must ensure that no health information disclosed in the course of conducting the program contains personally identifiable information. The researchers conducting the program must create reports for the governor and the appropriate standing committees of the legislature regarding progress of the pilot program and the studies conducted as part of the program. The medicinal psilocybin treatment fund created in this bill consists of donations, gifts, grants, bequests, moneys transferred from the general fund, and all earnings and other investment income of the fund. This trust fund is managed by the State of Wisconsin Investment Board. Moneys in the fund may be expended for the purpose for which any donation, gift, grant, or bequest is made and for the administration of the pilot program.”

As the research community increasingly highlights the therapeutic potential of psychedelics like mushrooms, military veterans in the United States have embraced the treatment –– even though it remains illegal under federal law.

A growing number of those veterans are going to Mexico, where they are able to obtain the psychedelic treatment options.

The inability for many U.S. veterans to receive those treatments is why Wisconsin state Sen. Jesse James, a Republican, introduced the bill there.

“Our federal government has failed us when it comes to marijuana and the psilocybin and all these other variants that are out there in doing these studies,” James, a veteran of the Gulf War, told Wisconsin Public Radio. “So, if states have to take it upon themselves to do it, then I guess that’s what we should be doing.”

James said that clinical trials in other states have showcased the promise of psilocybin mushrooms.

“(Patients) have higher energy levels, improved familial relationships with their loved ones,” James said, as quoted by Wisconsin Public Radio. “They’re communicating more, enhancing their work performance of all things. I mean, this is what excites me because this is what we need in our society right now.”

James is co-sponsoring the bill Democratic state Rep. Clinton Anderson.

“I think our veterans deserve the absolute best, and that includes us accessing other opportunities for treatment for them,” Anderson said, as quoted by Wisconsin Public Radio.

“Let’s try to find some alternatives to treatment for our veterans who serve our country,” Anderson continued. “And I think that’s something we should all be able to get behind. Otherwise, we’re just playing political theater when we talk about how important our veterans are.”

There have been similar displays of bipartisan support for such proposals on Capitol Hill. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat, and Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Republican, introduced legislation this summer that would direct the Department of Defense to research psychedelics.

Crenshaw, a far-right conservative from Texas, noted that he had formed a “real wild coalition” with Ocasio-Ortez, the progressive from New York.

“Psychedelics have shown so much promise,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “We desperately need the resources to treat PTSD, traumatic brain injury and depression. At least one in two PTSD patients cannot tolerate or do not respond adequately to existing treatments.”

Officials at the state level are not waiting for Washington to act, however. 

Massachusetts Gov. Maura T. Healey filed a bill earlier this month featuring a proposal to research the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics for veterans.

“Our veterans have sacrificed so much for our country, and this transformative legislation marks an important step toward ensuring that Massachusetts supports them in return,” said Healey. “From day one, our administration has been committed to revitalizing veterans’ services in Massachusetts and ensuring that every one of these heroes receives the benefits, resources and support that they deserve.”

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Following the introduction of Senate Bill 486, a cannabis legalization bill first introduced two months ago, the Wisconsin Department of Revenue released a fiscal report of the impact of legalization.

So far, SB 486 has received one Senate reading on Oct. 9, two additional cosponsors, and a fiscal estimate first published on Oct. 25.

Wisconsin has no data to build off of any existing cannabis industry but it used data from neighboring states of Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota to get a better idea of the effects and potential benefits of legalization. “All three states generate revenues through a variety of permits/licensing fees and excise taxes on retail sales (medical exempted), in addition Illinois imposes an excise tax on sales by growers to retailers,” the report stated. “Minnesota which legalized marijuana this year offers no historical data to estimate sales and tax revenues.”

The report stated that a 15% excise tax revenue in Wisconsin could generate up to $24.6 million in the first year, followed by $48.6 million in the second year, and $60.1 million in the third year. Additionally, a 10% excise tax on cannabis retailers could net up to $19.1 million in the first year, $47.3 million in the second year, and $64.9 million in the third year.

A 5% state general sales tax on cannabis would also show a collection of $9.5 million in the first year, $23.6 million in the second year, and finally $41.7 million in the third year.

Wisconsin also lumps together county tax estimates, along with a “stadium tax,” or baseball stadium tax for the counties of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Washington, and Waukesha. Together, this 9.6% state sales could collect up to $0.9 million in the first year, $2.3 million in the second year, and $3.1 million in the third year. Additionally, the report mentions Milwaukee-specific sales tax of 2.5%, for $0.2 million in the first year, $0.6 million for the second, and $0.8 million for the third.

Rough totals per year include $54.3 million for the first year, $122.8 for the second year, and $170.5 million for the third year.

The fees include administrative and staffing requirements, which would cost $4 million to implement, and an additional $4.5 million for expanding staff later on.

The legalization effort was launched by Sen. Leader Melissa Agard and Rep. Darrin B. Madison, Agard announced SB 486 in September. “I’ve said this time and time again, we know that the most dangerous thing about cannabis in Wisconsin is that it remains illegal.” Agard said in a press statement. “For the past decade, I have worked to undo Wisconsin’s antiquated and deeply unjust marijuana policies and put our state on a prosperous path forward.”

SB 486 would legalize possession of cannabis for residents over 21 years of age, and establish a regulatory foundation for cultivation, production, and sales.

Agard noted that people in Wisconsin are traveling to other local states to get access to cannabis products. “Right now, we are seeing our hard-earned money go across the border to Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota to the tune of tens of millions of dollars each year,” Agard said. “That is money we could be reinvesting to help support our friends and neighbors and make our state a place where people want to live, work, and play.”

Madison also said in a statement that it is the right of citizens to be able to purchase and consume cannabis safely without fear of criminalization. “According to the ACLU, Black people were 4.24 times more likely to be arrested than white people in Wisconsin during 2018,” Madison said. “Similar disparities exist in convictions, leading to immeasurable harm to black communities in Wisconsin. The bill we’ve introduced today lays a solid foundation for those that have been harshly convicted for non-violent possession charges and the ramifications of those convictions.” 

Earlier this year in March, a report showed that the state of Illinois has collected $36.1 million in tax revenue from Wisconsin residents crossing state lines to purchase cannabis legally. “It should upset every Wisconsinite that our hard earned tax dollars are going across the border to Illinois,” Agard stated. “This is revenue that could be going toward Wisconsin’s public schools, transportation infrastructure, and public safety. Instead, Illinois is reaping the benefits of Republican obstructionism and their prohibitionist stance on marijuana legalization.”

Later in August, Agard congratulated the state of Minnesota on the launch of legal cannabis sales, and called for the same to happen in Wisconsin soon as well. “Wisconsin is an island of prohibition. Now, approximately 700 miles of Wisconsin land borders a state with legal cannabis,” Agard said. “Choosing to ignore this issue, as my Republican colleagues continue to do, is not a winning position.”

Wisconsin is making progress, but it’s not likely that SB 486 will pass due to strong opposition from legislators. But those individuals’ opinions don’t match that of Wisconsinites, with 64% of registered voters supporting legalization, according to a November 2022 poll. In those results, 82% of Democrats said they supported legalization, along with 75% of independents, but only 43% of Republicans. In order for SB 486 to proceed, it must be approved by the legislature, which currently consists of a Republican majority.

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A bid to bring legalization to the Badger State started in earnest last week, with Democratic lawmakers in Wisconsin announcing legislation on Sept. 22 that would end the prohibition on recreational cannabis.

The bill was introduced by state Sen. Melissa Agard and state House Rep. Darrin B. Madison.

Agard, who is the minority leader in the Wisconsin state Senate, announced the legislation at an event held at a Wisconsin hemp farm and said that the status quo poses more harm than marijuana.

“I’ve said this time and time again, we know that the most dangerous thing about cannabis in Wisconsin is that it remains illegal,” Agard said, as quoted by local news station WSAW. “For the past decade, I have worked to undo Wisconsin’s antiquated and deeply unjust marijuana policies and put our state on a prosperous path forward.”

Under the proposal, adults in Wisconsin aged 21 and older could legally have marijuana in their possession. The measure would also lay the groundwork for a regulated cannabis market to launch in the state.

If it were to become law, Wisconsin would join nearly 40 other states in the country to permit adult-use marijuana. That includes many of Wisconsin’s neighbors in the Great Lakes region, which Agard said has resulted in lost revenue for the Badger State.

“Right now, we are seeing our hard-earned money go across the border to Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota to the tune of tens of millions of dollars each year. That is money we could be reinvesting to help support our friends and neighbors and make our state a place where people want to live, work, and play,” Agard said, as quoted by WSAW.

In a statement of his own, Madison said that legalizing cannabis “is a matter of public safety and racial justice here in Wisconsin.”

“People in Wisconsin indulge in cannabis use, and deserve the ability to buy safe cannabis and use it responsibly without being criminalized. According to the ACLU, Black people were 4.24 times more likely to be arrested than white people in Wisconsin during 2018. Similar disparities exist in convictions, leading to immeasurable harm to black communities in Wisconsin. The bill we’ve introduced today lays a solid foundation for those that have been harshly convicted for non-violent possession charges and the ramifications of those Convictions,” Madison said.

Polling data likewise shows that marijuana legalization is popular with residents in Wisconsin.

“Wisconsin is ready to legalize it—69% of Wisconsinites, including a majority of Republicans, support the full legalization of marijuana. It is way past time that our state honors the will of the majority and seizes the many positive economic and social benefits that cannabis legalization has to offer. Let’s join folks in over half the nation who have said ‘yes’ to putting the half-baked politics of prohibition behind us and set our expectations higher,” Agard said in a press release.

The Republican-controlled state legislature, however, may not be ready. Despite broad public support, as well as the backing from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, GOP lawmakers in Wisconsin have thus far resisted legalization.

Last spring, Republicans in the legislature killed a proposal to legalize cannabis, as well as hundreds of other Democratic-sponsored measures.

“These aren’t fringe ideas, controversial concepts, or Republican or Democratic priorities—they’re about doing the right thing. With a historic surplus comes historic responsibility, and today, when we can afford to do more, this vote is foolish and a wasted opportunity,” Evers said at the time.

Evers, who was elected as governor of the state in 2018 and re-elected last year, has long been a vocal champion of marijuana legalization.

Last year, Evers issued dozens of pardons, including several for individuals who had previously been convicted of marijuana-related offenses.

“There is power in redemption and forgiveness, especially for folks who’ve been working to move beyond their past mistakes to be productive, positive members of their communities,” Evers said in a statement released at the time. “I’m grateful for being able to give a second chance to these individuals who’ve worked hard to do just that.”

Earlier last year, Evers vetoed a GOP-backed measure that would have imposed more stringent penalties for those who get busted for pot, calling it “another step in the wrong direction.”

“I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to creating additional criminal offenses or penalties related to marijuana use,” Evers said in 2022 in a letter to the assembly.

“It is widely accepted, and, indeed, research over the course of the last decade confirms, that marijuana criminalization has had a disproportionate impact on communities of color, especially in Wisconsin where have long-standing racial disparities in incarceration rates,” Evers added.

Evers concluded his letter and explained his interest in justice reform.

“State across our country—both Democrat and Republican-controlled alike—have and are taking meaningful steps to address increased incarceration rates and reduce racial disparities by investing in substance use treatment, community reentry programming, alternatives to incarceration, rehabilitation and other data-driven, evidence-based practices we know are essential solutions to reforming our justice system,” the governor continued regarding the issue. “The data and the science are clear on this issue, and I welcome the Legislature to start having meaningful conversations around justice reform in Wisconsin.”

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled this week that the scent of cannabis alone constitutes probable cause to justify a search by police, despite the legalization of other products such as hemp that have similar odors. The court’s conservative majority ruled in a 4-3 decision that police officers in Marshfield, Wisconsin, had enough probable cause to search a defendant after detecting the smell of cannabis in the car he was driving and declined to exclude evidence discovered during the warrantless search. The ruling overturns two lower court rulings that found the evidence gained in the search was inadmissible because officers could not be certain if they smelled marijuana, which is still illegal under Wisconsin state law, and hemp, an agricultural crop that was legalized by the federal government with the 2018 Farm Bill.

The court handed down the decision on Tuesday in the case of Quaheem Moore, a man who was pulled over for speeding in Marshfield by two police officers in 2019. In their report, the officers state that while talking to Moore, they detected a strong odor of burnt cannabis emanating from the vehicle. When questioned about the odor, Moore told the officers that he had a CBD vaping device and noted that the vehicle was a car that had been rented by his brother. 

Scent of Cannabis Cited as Cause for Search

Although they admitted that they did detect the odor of marijuana on Moore, the officers cited the scent of cannabis coming from the car as cause to search the vehicle and Moore. The officers stated that during the search, they noted that Moore’s belt buckle appeared to be askew and upon looking closer, discovered a bulge in his pants. After closer examination, the officers discovered a hidden pocket inside the zipper of Moore’s pants, where they discovered packets of fentanyl and cocaine.

Police then arrested Moore and charged him with possession of narcotics, although he was not charged with possession of marijuana. Moore’s lawyers argued that because the police officers did not smell marijuana on Moore and because of the legality of CBD and hemp, which has an odor indistinguishable from marijuana, the police officers did not have probable cause for the search. Thus, the drugs found in the search should be excluded from evidence.

A circuit court judge and an appeals court agreed and ruled that the evidence discovered in the search was not admissible. Prosecutors appealed the rulings, saying the lower courts erred when they ruled the evidence inadmissible for trial.

Decision Overrules Lower Courts in Wisconsin

The Supreme Court disagreed with the previous rulings, overruling the lower court decisions and deciding the evidence gained in the search could be used in court. In a majority opinion written by Justice Brian Hagedorn, the court’s conservative majority found that because Moore was the only person in the vehicle, the police could reasonably assume that he “was probably connected with the illegal substance the officers identified.”

The decision relied on a 1999 Supreme Court decision that found police could arrest a driver because they connected him to the odor of cannabis in the car he was driving. That ruling said that the “unmistakable” scent of a controlled substance was evidence that a crime had been committed.

But the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal minority questioned the 1999 ruling and its relevance to Moore’s case, saying that the police officers did not have strong evidence that the cannabis odor was coming from Moore. They also noted that the earlier ruling is outdated and does not take into account the subsequent legalization of hemp and CBD. 

“Officers who believe they smell marijuana coming from a vehicle may just as likely be smelling raw or smoked hemp, which is not criminal activity,” Justice Rebecca Frank Dallet wrote in a dissenting opinion that was joined by two additional justices.

After Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling was released, Moore’s attorney, Joshua Hargrove, warned that the decision could allow law enforcement offices to justify searches based on unreliable conclusions without being held accountable in court.

“This opinion could subject more citizens engaged in lawful behavior to arrest,” he said in a statement quoted by the Associated Press.

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