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Two in three Wisconsin voters support legalizing marijuana, according to a new poll that comes amid another call for reform by the state\u2019s Democratic governor.<\/p>\n
The survey from Marquette Law School shows that support for cannabis reform has generally increased over time since the institution first started tracking public opinion on legalization in 2013, with 67 percent of voters now backing the policy change.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s 17 percentage points higher than the 2013 results. Democrats are the most likely to favor legalizing cannabis, at 88 percent, followed by independents (79 percent). However, a majority of Republicans (56 percent) said they\u2019re still opposed to adult-use legalization.<\/p>\n
\u201cSupport for legalization grew to more than 60 percent in 2022, where it has remained since,\u201d the survey<\/a>\u2014which involved interviews with 873 Wisconsin registered voters from June 13-19\u2014says. The margin of error was +\/-4.7 percentage points.<\/p>\n 67% of Wisconsin registered voters favor legalizing marijuana, with 33% opposed. Support for legalization grew to over 60% in 2022, where it has remained since. #mulawpoll<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 MULawPoll (@MULawPoll) June 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n While marijuana reform has been consistently blocked in the GOP-controlled legislature, Gov. Tony Evers (D) recently said that if Democrats take control of the Assembly and Senate now that new \u201cfair\u201d district maps have been set, the state can \u201cfinally\u201d legalize marijuana<\/a> so that residents don\u2019t have to go to neighboring Illinois to patronize its adult-use market.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we want to finally end the obstruction of Madison, we have to get to work\u2014and we can\u2019t wait. We have to start today,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we want majorities that will finally get things done in the legislature, then our work starts right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D) also briefly touched on the issue at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin\u2019s 2025 convention earlier this month, saying \u201cwe will also legalize cannabis\u201d among other priorities in the Democratic agenda if the party wins a legislative majority in next year\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n The governor and top Democratic senator\u2019s comments came about a month after Republicans cut key provisions from a state budget proposal from Evers<\/a>, including plans to legalize and regulate marijuana.<\/p>\n The actions are a repeat of two years ago, when GOP members of\u00a0the same committee removed proposals to legalize cannabis for recreational and medical use<\/a>\u00a0from the governor\u2019s biennial executive budget at that time.<\/p>\n Evers\u00a0included the latest marijuana legalization plan in his biennial budget request to lawmakers in February<\/a>, projecting at the time that the change would result in \u201c$58.1 million in revenue in fiscal year 2026-27 and growing amounts in future years.\u201d<\/p>\n Under current Wisconsin law, cannabis is illegal for both recreational and medical purposes.<\/p>\n The legalization proposal would have imposed a 15 percent wholesale excise tax and a 10 percent retail excise tax on recreational cannabis products. It would additionally \u201ccreate a process for individuals serving sentences or previously convicted of marijuana-related crimes to have an opportunity to repeal or reduce their sentences for nonviolent minor offenses.\u201d<\/p>\n The\u00a0companion\u00a0bills\u00a0that were filed in tandem with the governor\u2019s budget request stipulate that all revenue collected from the proposed cannabis taxes will be deposited into the state general fund.<\/p>\n \u2014 Despite Republicans\u2019\u00a0move\u00a0to\u00a0cut\u00a0legalization from the budget legislation,\u00a0party leaders recently acknowledged that the debate over medical marijuana legalization is \u201cnot going to go away,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and there\u2019s hope it can be resolved this session.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone is naive enough to think that marijuana and THC products aren\u2019t present in the state of Wisconsin when they are readily available over state lines, so I think we need to come to an answer on this,\u201d Assembly Majority Leader Rep. Tyler August (R) said in February. \u201cI\u2019m hopeful that we can.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf we\u2019re going to call it medical marijuana, it needs to be treated like a pharmaceutical. But the marijuana debate is going to be something that is not going to go away,\u201d Sen. Dan Feyen (R), the assistant majority leader, said at the time. \u201cThe margins are tighter.\u201d<\/p>\n There have been repeated attempts to legalize medical marijuana in the legislature over recent years, including the introduction of legislation from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) that\u00a0called for a limited program facilitated through state-run dispensaries<\/a>. That proved controversial among his Republican colleagues, however, and it ultimately stalled out last year.<\/p>\n Evers previewed his plan to\u00a0include marijuana legalization in his budget in January<\/a>, while also arguing that residents of the state should be allowed to propose new laws by putting binding questions on the ballot\u2014citing the fact that issues such as cannabis reform enjoy sizable bipartisan support while the GOP-controlled legislature has repeatedly refused to act.<\/p>\n Previously, in 2022, the governor signed an executive order to convene a special legislative session with the specific goal of\u00a0giving people the right to put citizen initiatives on the ballot<\/a>, raising hopes among advocates that cannabis legalization could eventually be decided by voters. The GOP legislature did not adopt the proposal, however.<\/p>\n Evers said in December that\u00a0marijuana reform is one of several key priorities the state should pursue<\/a>\u00a0in the 2025 session, as lawmakers work with a budget surplus.<\/p>\n Days after he made the remarks, a\u00a0survey found the reform would be welcomed by voters<\/a>\u00a0in rural parts of the state. Nearly two thirds (65 percent) said they support legalizing cannabis.<\/p>\n Last May, the governor said he was \u201chopeful\u201d that the November 2024 election would lead to Democratic control of the legislature, in part because\u00a0he argued it would position the state to finally legalize cannabis<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been working hard over the last five years, several budgets, to make that happen,\u201d he said at the time. \u201cI know we\u2019re surrounded by states with recreational marijuana, and we\u2019re going to continue to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n A Wisconsin Democratic Assemblymember tried to force a vote on a medical cannabis compromise proposal last year, as an amendment to an unrelated kratom bill, but he told Marijuana Moment he suspects leadership\u00a0intentionally pulled that legislation from the agenda at the last minute to avoid a showdown<\/a>\u00a0on the issue.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the state Department of Revenue released a fiscal estimate of the economic impact of a legalization bill from then-Sen. Melissa Agard (D) in 2023, projecting that\u00a0the reform would generate nearly $170 million annually in tax revenue<\/a>.<\/p>\n A legislative analysis requested by lawmakers estimated that\u00a0Wisconsin residents spent more than $121 million on cannabis in Illinois alone<\/a>\u00a0in 2022, contributing $36 million in tax revenue to the neighboring state.<\/p>\n Evers and other Democrats have since at least last January\u00a0insisted that they would be willing to enact a modest medical marijuana program<\/a>, even if they\u2019d prefer more comprehensive reform.<\/p>\n Marijuana Opponents \u2018Have Lost\u2019 The Debate, GOP Senator Says, Arguing \u2018It\u2019s Time\u2019 To Regulate It Like Alcohol And Tobacco<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Two In Three Wisconsin Voters Back Marijuana Legalization, New Poll Shows As Governor Predicts Reform In Next Session Under Democratic Control<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Two in three Wisconsin voters support legalizing marijuana, according to a new poll that comes amid another call for reform by the state\u2019s Democratic governor. The survey from Marquette Law School shows that support for cannabis reform has generally increased over time since the institution first started tracking public opinionContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":81919,"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\/81918"}],"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=81918"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81920,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81918\/revisions\/81920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n\n
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\nRead More: Two In Three Wisconsin Voters Back Marijuana Legalization, New Poll Shows As Governor Predicts Reform In Next Session Under Democratic Control<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"