The stages are set for the General Election on November 8th, 2022. We have documented the 2022 Wisconsin State Assembly Candidates feelings and actions about marijuana reform and created a comprehensive data base. We hope you find this information helpful when it comes time to vote.

One reason why it is important to contact and get a stance from each candidate is simple math. There are twenty candidates in this equation that have not commented about the issue of cannabis. We will do our best with the data we have. Main stream media, candidate interviews and forums have been addressing marijuana reform that past few election cycles, but still, some candidates manage to dodge the issue. Here are some of the highlights of the 2022 Wisconsin State Assembly Candidates.

All Assembly Candidates in both parties = 172 Total (84 Democrat and 88 Republican)

53% of the total candidate from both parties combined supported legalization.

72% of total candidate field from both parties combined supported medical marijuana.

The Democrats:

94% of Democrat Assembly Candidates on the November 2022 ballot support legalization of recreational marijuana.

This is a dramatic improvement from the 2020 Assembly Candidate Analysis when 72% of Democrat candidates supported recreational marijuana.

Everyone should feel confident that the Democrats will present a comprehensive bill to end prohibition in Wisconsin next legislative session. Governor Evers has already signaled he will include marijuana legalization in the next budget if re-elected. Will any bill attract a Republican co-sponsor in the Assembly?

The Republicans:

Only 14% of the Republican Assembly Candidates on the November 2022 ballot are on record support adult use cannabis legislation.

Only thirteen (13) Republican candidates are addressing support for a change in the marijuana laws for adult use. That is about 14% of the Republican candidates and it leaves a great deal of work to be had in the GOP as the other seventy-five (75) candidates that are not so kind to cannabis legalization.

• No improvement from Republican Candidates in 2020 when approximately 18% of candidates supported legalization.

Republican candidates are also not supporting medical marijuana, as only forty-three (43) of the eighty-eight (88) candidates indicated support. (48%)

• No improvement from 2020 Republican Candidates when nearly 65% supported medical marijuana.

There were too many Republican candidates that did not make any public comments on the issue or participate in a Wisconsin EYE Candidate Interview. Just two years ago, there were only a few without a stance on marijuana reform and this election cycle there were too many candidates that went without saying the word marijuana.

The Takeaway

No matter the results of the upcoming election, marijuana reform is going to be an ongoing issue in Wisconsin for years to come. To address the comprehensive nature of marijuana laws, we need legislators who sponsored the various bills throughout the past sessions to work together towards sensible cannabis reform. 

Political support among Wisconsin state elected officials and candidates for marijuana policy reform continues to grow. However, this support is more partisan than ever before. Very few Republicans are on record in support of adult-use legalization and not enough are in favor of regulating medical cannabis access.

By contrast, a large percentage of Democrats are supportive of both issues. This partisan divide is not similarly reflected among the general public. According to national polling data compiled by Gallup in October 2019, 66 percent of the public — including majorities of self-identified Democrats, Republicans, and Independents — favor adult-use legalization. Bipartisan support among the public for medical marijuana legalization is even stronger.

Until this public support is similarly reflected among lawmakers, many cannabis-specific legislative reforms – in particular adult-use legalization proposals – will continue to meet resistance at the state level.