Sasha Ripley (D) Senate District 13 Candidate Questionnaire Answers

Sasha Ripley has shown high interest in learning about the hemp cannabis industry in Wisconsin. She attend our 4/20 Event at Heritage Hemp Farm in Ripon. I have enjoyed getting to know Sasha Ripley as a candidate and believe if elected to Senate she would be a fierce advocate for hemp cannabis.

The 13th Senate district is located in south central Wisconsin, the district comprises all of Green Lake and Marquette counties, along with most of Dodge County, western Fond du Lac County, and parts of northern Jefferson County, eastern Adams County, northeast Columbia County, and southwest Winnebago County. It includes the cities of Beaver Dam, Horicon, Markesan, Mayville, Montello, Princeton, Ripon, Watertown, and Waupun.

Find out more about her campaign at her official campaign website and follow her on her official campaign Facebook Page.

Full Name

Sasha Ripley

Date

8/16/2026

Email

sasha@ripleyforwisconsin.com

Phone Number

715-340-6567

Office Sought:

Wisconsin State Senate District 13

Do you currently or have you previously held public office?

No

Is there any cannabis related legislation you have sponsored, co-sponsored, or publicly supported? Would you like to provide a brief statement about your stance on cannabis reform?

I support immediate decriminalization for cannabis use in the state of Wisconsin and full legalization for recreational and medical use of cannabis for adults in the state of Wisconsin. I also support legalizing the cultivation of a small number of plants for an individual’s personal use. At the federal level, we must not allow our farmers, workers, and small business owners involved in the hemp industry to be financially devastated by the unnecessary and irresponsible ban on hemp. Hemp farmers, producers, and business owners have been following the law in good faith and should not be blindsided by this disruption to their businesses. In this economy, we must support every economic opportunity for our rural communities. Both hemp and the recreational use of cannabis will bring Wisconsinites the opportunity to start new businesses, create good jobs, and produce much needed revenue for our state. Currently we are sending millions of dollars in possible revenue to other nearby states that we could be using here to help fund our public schools and lower property taxes and create more affordable public health insurance options for our Wisconsin residents, farmers, and small business owners. We are wasting money and resources to prosecute and incarcerate people for cannabis use that could be used to improve our communities. Legalization would ensure people have access to safe, regulated cannabis products. It is also irresponsible of our state legislature to deny people with medical conditions such as epilepsy or cancer the option of using safe and legal cannabis products to treat these diseases and find much needed symptom relief.

Do you think individual states should keep their laws in line with federal laws regarding the legalization of cannabis?

No

Do you support ending federal prohibition of cannabis?

Yes

Do you support regulating the HDC (hemp derived cannabinoid) market created under the Industrial Hemp Program / Federal Farm Bill?

Yes

If answered YES to the above question about regulating HDC’s, would you support the 2025-26 legislation Senate Bill 682 and Asseembly Bill 747, commonly known as the Testin/Kurtz HDC Reg Bill?

Yes

Do you support legalizing and regulating the responsible use of cannabis by adults in the state of Wisconsin?

Yes

Would you support a two year moratorium implementing any excise tax to evaluate true administration/regulation costs before automatically attaching an exicse tax to a regulation program?

No

If you support an excise tax above and beyond what is needed to administer a regulation program, what percentage of excise tax do you feel is appropriate? Where do you think excise tax should be spent?

A 12% excise tax would be appropriate with an exemption for medical use. I would use the funds generated by an excise tax to help pay for public school funding and therefore lower property taxes and toward affordable public health insurance options for Wisconsin residents, farmers, and small business owners.

Do you think cannabis should be classified as a Schedule 1 drug?

No

Do you support medical use of cannabis in the State of Wisconsin?

Yes

If you support medical use of cannabis, do you also support patient’s rights to cultivate their own medicine or assign caregivers to do it for them?

Yes

Do you support decriminalization of cannabis in the State of Wisconsin?

Yes

Do you support automatic expungement of non-violent cannabis possession convictions?

Yes

Would you (join, support or not support) The Wisconsin Cannabis Caucus

Join