by Isiah Holmes, Wisconsin Examiner
April 20, also known as 4/20, is a day that has come to symbolize the celebration of cannabis. People erroneously connect 4/20 to the number of chemical compounds in the marijuana plant and to police radio codes for cannabis. Whatever the day’s origins, it has taken on importance for the movement to end cannabis prohibition. In the state of Wisconsin, where a majority of residents support legalization, the Legislature remains inactive on the issue. During the last legislative session, the only bill related to cannabis taken up by the Republican-controlled Legislature was a bill to further criminalize cannabis extracts including butane hash oil. Nevertheless, at 10 a.m. on the fabled day of haze, the Senate Committee on Insurance, Licensing & Forestry will hold a hearing on a medicinal cannabis bill.
The bill, authored by Sen. Mary Felzkowski (R-Irma), would legalize medicinal use of cannabis under specific conditions. Patients would need to be registered, and the cannabis must be in the form of a liquid, oil, pill, tincture or topical ointment. The restrictions put Wisconsin out of step with 37 states that allow medicinal cannabis and another 18 that have fully legalized the plant. The bill also establishes a medical cannabis regulatory committee, which Felzkowski has said would take the process of regulation out of the Legislature’s hands.
Related: Poll shows 61% support for legal cannabis in Wisconsin
Steps toward ending cannabis prohibition in Wisconsin have been slow and difficult. Felzkowski has attempted to introduce bills to stimulate a conversation about cannabis among Republican officials in the past. Wednesday would mark the first time a medicinal cannabis bill would get a public hearing. But the Legislature has adjourned until 2023, meaning no new laws will pass before then. As proposals from both sides of the aisle have failed to motivate the Republican-controlled Legislature, some advocates and public officials have pushed to lower existing penalties locally.
Cannabis is essentially decriminalized in the city of Madison, and amounts of 28 grams or under have been deprioritized by law enforcement elsewhere. The changes aren’t consistent, however, and in some areas stiff penalties can still result from cannabis possession. Gov. Tony Evers proposed fully legalizing cannabis and allocating tax revenues for community investments. The proposal failed to garner support in the Legislature, however.
Wisconsin Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Wisconsin Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Ruth Conniff for questions: [email protected] Follow Wisconsin Examiner on Facebook and Twitter.
- Nebraska medical cannabis backers file legal challenge to petition process
Supporters of medical marijuana in Nebraska have launched a legal challenge to the state’s requirement that 5% of registered voters in at least 38 counties sign a petition to get the measure before voters on the ballot. - N.J. lawmakers seek to curb cannabis use
As New Jersey nears the end of its first month of legal recreational marijuana sales, lawmakers have introduced a series of bills aimed at restricting what types of workers can use cannabis off the job. - Missouri House votes to require disclosure of medical cannabis ownership records
The Missouri House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to require state regulators to disclose ownership information for businesses granted medical marijuana licenses that the state has withheld from public view. - Nebraska medical cannabis group calls for ‘grassroots’ effort after losing donor
Unable to raise $1 million to replace funds from a major donor who died, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana issued a plea Friday for supporters of the cause to take up petitions and gather signatures. - Lawmaker says GOP resistance may doom Missouri cannabis legalization
A Republican lawmaker pushing legislation to legalize recreational marijuana in Missouri says his bill is in jeopardy because of stall tactics by his GOP colleagues and the insistence of the House floor leader that it include license caps. - SD cannabis legalization campaign to submit signatures for November
Today, South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, the political group that led the 2020 campaign to legalize cannabis in South Dakota, submitted petitions to place an adult-use cannabis legalization initiated measure on the November 2022 ballot. - NH senate votes down legal cannabis bills, ending chances for 2022
The New Hampshire Senate voted down two bills to legalize cannabis Thursday, likely heading off the last opportunities for legalization in the Granite State this year. - Last Prisoner Project: Taking Real Action to Help Cannabis Prisoners
“It really remains a fundamental injustice,” said Stephen Post, of America’s criminalization of cannabis. “We’re really helping to try to turn around those injustices.” Post works as a campaign manager for Last Prisoner Project (LPP), a nonprofit assisting cannabis prisoners. - Federal attempts to legalize cannabis flail, while public support grows
Across the country, attitudes toward cannabis are becoming more permissive and accepting, but partisan gridlock in Congress virtually ensures that legislation to decriminalize marijuana will languish and die in the U.S. Senate. - Wisconsin GOP medical cannabis bill gets 4/20 public hearing
The bill, authored by Sen. Mary Felzkowski (R-Irma), would legalize medicinal use of cannabis under specific conditions. Patients would need to be registered, and the cannabis must be in the form of a liquid, oil, pill, tincture or topical ointment.