Kenosha Residents for Cannabis Reform

All politics are local and a local activist from Kenosha that admins the facebook page Kenosha Residents for Cannabis Reform has been working very hard to have a dialog with and document the stance of candidates for office at the local level.

Locally elected officials have the power to lower fines for cannabis possession in Wisconsin. This is not a State Responsibility, but the responsibility of the bodies that set local ordinances. Locally elected officials do not have the authority to legalize and regulate the sale of cannabis.

The Kenosha County Board has the power to lower fines issued by the Kenosha Sheriff’s Department, the city council can lower fines issued by KPD, Pleasant Prairie Village Board can lower fines issued by PPPD, etc.

Additionally, County Board and Municipal Elected Officials have the authority to place any advisory referendum on the ballot, and could ask Kenosha County voters for their opinion on recreational marijuana legalization with a simple majority vote.

Finally, the brutal truth of the past couple years in Kenosha is that racial disparities are one of our most major local problems. Our elected officials should be prepared to create local solutions to these problems and should answer questions about racial disparities honestly and willingly.

The Wisconsin Justice Initiative “2019 Pot Page” reports:

Kenosha County is 87 percent White, 13 percent Hispanic or Latino, 7 percent African American, 2 percent Asian, and 1 percent American Indian or Alaska Native.

Of interest: Kenosha County’s population is just 7 percent Black, but 47 percent of cases with marijuana charges filed in the county were filed against Black defendants; conversely, the county is 87 percent White, but whites were just 45 percent of marijuana charge defendants.

This is very effective activism and should be duplicated through the state. With 595 municipalities and 72 counties, there is room for more of this type of work to be done right where you live, so do not hesitate to contact us to help get you started.

Kyle has been highlighting the candidate responses on the Facebook Page Kenosha Residents for Cannabis Reform. In addition, he has documented past actions of local elected officials, such as who supported or opposed the 2018 Advisory Referendum.

Vote in this Election on Tuesday, April 5th, 2022. The project will be posting responses from Kenosha County Board Candidates tomorrow.