Wisconsin Republicans Unveil Highly Restrictive Medical Cannabis Proposal

Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin unveiled a highly restrictive medical cannabis proposal on Monday, drawing an unenthusiastic response from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, the Associated Press reports.

Under the proposed bill, medical cannabis products would only be legally available to people with chronic illnesses like cancer, and the products would only be available via five state-run retailers that would be designated at a later point by the state Department of Health Services. Additionally, smokable cannabis products would not be available to patients.

A spokesperson for Gov. Evers — who alongside Democratic lawmakers has called for the full legalization of cannabis in Wisconsin — said the governor would review the proposal and that “he looks forward to hearing from Wisconsinites and other stakeholders as the bill moves through the legislative process.”

Wisconsin Republicans currently hold strong majorities in both the House and Senate, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has said the proposal is as far as Assembly Republicans are willing to go, the report said.

“We want to make this available to people, but we want to have tight controls on it as well.” — Wisconsin State Rep. Jon Plumer (R), in a statement

Meanwhile, a report published last year found that neighboring Illinois generated about $36.1 million in tax revenue from cannabis sales to Wisconsin residents in 2022. In total, Wisconsinites were estimated to have accounted for nearly 8% of total cannabis sales in Illinois that year, the report said.