- Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, who advocates full legalization of recreational marijuana, said he is open to the more limited legalization of medical marijuana proposed by Republicans.
- Republicans have been working on a medical marijuana bill behind closed doors for years, but they plan to unveil it this month.
- The move to legalize marijuana in Wisconsin is gaining momentum due to changes in laws in neighboring states.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, who has pushed for full legalization of recreational marijuana, said Wednesday that he is open to a more limited medical marijuana legalization push by Republicans.
“I think it would be more prudent to do it all at once in terms of meeting the needs of the people of Wisconsin who have been asking for it,” Evers said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But if that's what we can accomplish now, I support it.”
Republicans have been working in secret on a medical marijuana bill for years, and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said in December that he would introduce the bill this month. Republicans have repeatedly rejected calls from Evers and other Democrats to legalize all uses of marijuana, including for medical and recreational purposes.
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Vos said the proposal would be limited and modeled on the medical marijuana law that was in place in neighboring Minnesota before moving toward full legalization.
Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who has been pushing for full legalization of recreational marijuana, said in an interview at the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, on January 3, 2024, that the more limited medical marijuana legalization pushed by Republicans He said he supported the change. (AP Photo/Todd Richmond)
Evers said he is open to a limited medical marijuana program but has not yet seen the Republican proposal.
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Wisconsin remains a national outlier. Thirty-eight states have legalized medical marijuana and 24 states have legalized recreational marijuana. As Wisconsin's neighbors loosen their laws, the push for legalization in Wisconsin is gaining momentum.
A Marquette University Law School poll has long shown strong majority support for legalizing marijuana use among Wisconsin residents.
