Medical Marijuana stalled by Wisconsin Republicans again in 2017
In what could be considered a floor vote in some activists eyes, the Wisconsin Medical Marijuana Act, legislatively known as Assembly Bill 75 was defeated in a 34 to 59 party line vote. The vote to suspend rules to withdraw and take up came in the late hours on Thursday February 22, of what could have been the final assembly session of the 2017 regular session / legislative cycle.
Here is a PDF of the roll call: Wisconsin Assembly Roll Call 2017 Medical Marijuana
While I was attending a lobby day on Feb 15th the committee members we targeted on the Republican side gave the usual opposition language and excuses. Many of the members said “they did not feel their constituents supported anything marijuana related / indicated no constituents ever called their offices regarding these bills” and the worry about increased amount of “high” drivers were the most common, followed by the excuse “if the chair or leadership does not want the issue to advance, it will not advance. Unfortunately, the later statement was heard from both parties.
A record number of cannabis reform bills were introduced this session, including expansion of the Act 4 (CBD) and passage of Act 100 (Industrial Hemp) came in 2017. Among the efforts this session was an attempt to directly combat the opposition attempt to say their district does not support medical marijuana by placing the following question on the November 2018 ballot:
Should the state of Wisconsin allow individuals with debilitating medical conditions to use and safely access marijuana for medical purposes if those individuals have a written recommendation from a licensed Wisconsin physician?
The ballot question is legislatively know as Assembly Joint Resolution 7 / Senate Joint Resolution 10.
Unfortunately, the Republicans seem to be blocking this effort also. Sadly the possibility of seeing the resolution to place the above question on the November 2018 ballot is almost dead at the state level. I bet the Republicans using the excuse that they don’t think their district supports the issue hope this ballot question does not make it on or they will be out of that excuse.
That is why we are asking you to contact your City Councils and County Boards and ask them to adopt the proposed language/question above and place it on your local ballot. The City and County level officials have the power to do this without us even asking them and in fact, many city and county officials are talking about it right now.
We are asking you to contact your City Councils and County Boards and ask them to adopt the proposed language/question above and place it on your local ballot. Here is a thread on our forum that explains the initiative in more detail and includes a sample letter: http://www.northernwinorml.org/forum/discussion/7/assembly-joint-resolution-7-senate-joint-resolution-10-medical-marijuana-ballot-question
Thank the Wisconsin Republican Party and current elected members of the Republican Party for their continued endorsement of the medical cannabis black market here in Wisconsin.
