Rep. Sanfelippo is assigned medical marijuana bills
The last time we had a public hearing on marijuana reform in the in Wisconsin was back in 2009. We all know it is high time Wisconsin legalizes cannabis for responsible adults and we are sick of waiting. But to not even hold a public hearing on the bills seems cruel and unusual punishment. Republican Assembly Committee Chairs are all set to ignore the will of the people again this legislative session.
Assembly Representative Joe Sanfelippo (R-New Berlin) has been assigned both versions of medical marijuana legislation in his committee. As the session ends early, Republicans seem to care most about putting the least legislation on the desk of the Governor more then anything. Rep. Sanfelippo will hold the medical marijuana bills hostage from even a public hearing! With 59% of Wisconsin polling positive for pot legalization and 83% polling as supportive of compassionate use of medical marijuana our collective voices must be heard.
The Republican partisan bill which is presented and vetted by his own Republican Caucus will sit idle. The Democrats version of medical marijuana will surely die in committee again under his watch. These two latest measures have not been assigned a Senate Committee or bill number yet.
Interesting to note, although the Republican version of the medical marijuana bill attracted 18 Republican co-sponsors, not one Democrat signed onto it. Instead, Democrats offered their own version of a medical cannabis program for Wisconsin attracting 13 co-sponsors from the their own caucus. The Democrat bill produced one GOP co-sponsor and that was Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R-Neenah).
There are 99 Assembly Representatives in Wisconsin. Currently Democrats hold 38 seats. I know there are many Republicans that want to see this happen in our state, but even if you just add the current 18 Republican co-sponsors to the 38 Democrats, we have a 56 vote majority. A medical marijuana bill can pass, but competing medical marijuana bills have little chance. It is evident that a Wisconsin Cannabis Caucus can help weed out bad legislation and present bi-partisan legislation.
We are conducting a phone call blitz to his office and need your help!
We need YOU to call Committee Chair Sanfelippo at (608) 266-0620. If you get the answering machine, leave the message with your full name and address.
The medical cannabis bills is stuck in committee and the entire state needs to put pressure on committee chairs to hold a public hearings. CALL TODAY!
Script
“I am calling today to ask Representative Sanfelippo, as Chair of the Assembly Health Committee, to hold a public hearing on Assembly Bills 1063 and 1067.
It only takes 20 seconds and most likely you will just be leaving a message on an answering machine or with his staff. It is important that you say the bill numbers and leave your name and address when leaving a message.
THANK YOU!
If you cannot or do not want to call, please sign our petition we will be presenting the Senator and other Committee Members.
