Wisconsin Republicans have again blocked the state from legalizing medical marijuana as part of the governor\u2019s budget proposal.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee voted against a motion to re-add the cannabis reform in the 2021-2023 budget plan.<\/p>\n
This action comes one month after the same panel first voted to scrap Gov. Tony Evers\u2019s (D) marijuana proposal\u2019s<\/a>\u2014including both recreational and medical legalization\u2014from the budget.<\/p>\n The cannabis measures were among nearly 400 provisions that were proposed to be eliminated by the panel.<\/p>\n Rep. Evan Goyke (D) argued that the state is becoming \u201cmore and more of an island\u201d as neighboring states adopt new cannabis laws. He framed the medical marijuana measure as \u201can attempt at compromise\u201d with Republicans who oppose broader adult-use legalization and argued that the \u201csky has not fallen\u201d in other states that have allowed patients to access cannabis.<\/p>\n The theme of GOP missed opportunities continues today in Finance. https:\/\/t.co\/wSHJibwZu1<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Evan Goyke (@RepGoyke) June 2, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The new motion called for the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to receive $185,000 annually to regulate a medical marijuana market.<\/p>\n But Committee Cochairman Sen. Howard Marklein (R) ruled that the motion to add cannabis language back into the budget was out of order.<\/p>\n Goyke admonished GOP lawmakers to \u201cstop running from this debate.\u201d<\/p>\n Evers released\u00a0details of his proposed reform legislation<\/a>\u00a0through his budget request in February. It would have allowed adults 21 and older, or qualifying patients, to purchase, possess and cultivate marijuana for personal use. Residents could possess up to two ounces of marijuana, while out-of-state visitors could have up to one quarter-ounce. Adults could grow up to six plants for personal use.<\/p>\n This is the second time that the governor has\u00a0included marijuana reform in his budget request<\/a>\u00a0only to have that provision stripped by the Republican-led legislature.<\/p>\n Evers held a virtual town hall event in April where he discussed the cannabis proposal<\/a>, emphasizing that polling demonstrates that Wisconsin residents back the policy change.<\/p>\n \u201cIn one of the rooms I work in at the Capitol, on the ceiling it says: \u2018The will of the people is the law of the land,\u2019\u201d Evers said, \u201cand I take that seriously. When people are passing referenda to say, \u2018We believe that we should have recreational marijuana and\/or medicinal marijuana,\u2019 that\u2019s what we should do as legislators and as leaders in the executive branch.\u201d<\/p>\n Prior to the event, he released a video where he complained about hearing from the governor of neighboring Illinois, where legal sales launched in January 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cFrankly I\u2019m kind of tired of talking to the governor from Illinois,\u201d he said. \u201cWhenever I get with him, he thanks me for having Wisconsinites cross the border to buy marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n Locally, Wisconsin voters in three jurisdictions last year\u00a0approved non-binding advisory questions in favor of marijuana legalization<\/a>. Those moves came after Wisconsinites overwhelmingly embraced cannabis reform\u00a0by supporting more than a dozen similar measures across the state<\/a>\u00a0during the 2018 election.<\/p>\n Late last year, city officials in the state\u2019s capital, Madison, voted to remove most local penalties for cannabis possession and consumption,\u00a0effectively allowing use by adults 18 and older<\/a>.<\/p>\n GOP lawmakers have\u00a0filed bills to decriminalize marijuana possession<\/a>\u00a0in the state. But none of those proposals have advanced so far this session.<\/p>\n Arizona Supreme Court Launches Site To Help People Expunge Marijuana Convictions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Wisconsin Republicans Block Medical Marijuana From Being Re-Added To Budget<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Wisconsin Republicans have again blocked the state from legalizing medical marijuana as part of the governor\u2019s budget proposal. On Wednesday, the GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee voted against a motion to re-add the cannabis reform in the 2021-2023 budget plan. This action comes one month after the same panel first votedContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48035"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48035"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48036,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48035\/revisions\/48036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Wisconsin Republicans Block Medical Marijuana From Being Re-Added To Budget<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"