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- Wisconsin Republicans have proposed a plan to legalize medical marijuana in response to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ current assist for the concept.
- The proposed bill restricts medical marijuana to severely unwell people with persistent ailments like most cancers.
- Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos mentioned the offered program represents the utmost extent the group is keen to assist.
Wisconsin Republicans on Monday unveiled a extremely restricted plan to legalize medical marijuana within the state, a proposal years within the making that comes lower than per week after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers voiced assist for the concept.
The bill would restrict medical marijuana solely to severely unwell folks with persistent ailments equivalent to most cancers and is way from the complete legalization that Evers and Democrats have pushed unsuccessfully to go for years. Still, Evers mentioned final week that he helps making a medical marijuana program if that is all that may be accomplished now.
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has mentioned that this system detailed within the bill introduced Monday was so far as Assembly Republicans might go. Republicans maintain a 64-35 majority within the Assembly and a 22-11 benefit within the Senate. Last 12 months, Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu mentioned a bill to create a medical marijuana program might go this legislative session — so long as laws are put ahead to make sure that it could be restricted to solely those that are in critical ache.
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The bill unveiled Monday would restrict the provision of marijuana to folks identified with sure ailments, together with most cancers, glaucoma, a number of sclerosis, inflammatory bowel illness, extreme muscle spasms, persistent ache or nausea, and people with a terminal sickness and fewer than a 12 months to stay.
Republican Rep. Jon Plumer unveils a GOP proposal to legalize medical marijuana in Wisconsin at a Capitol information convention on Jan. 8, 2024, in Madison, Wis. Wisconsin Republicans on Monday unveiled a extremely restricted plan to legalize medical marijuana within the state. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Patients could be required to have a health care provider’s prognosis to acquire the marijuana at one among solely 5 state-run dispensaries. The variety of dispensaries might develop, mentioned Republican Rep. Jon Plumer at a information convention.
“We want to make this available to people, but we want to have tight controls on it as well,” Plumer mentioned.
Recreational marijuana is authorized in neighboring Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan.
Vos mentioned it was modeled after the medical marijuana regulation that was in place in Minnesota earlier than it moved to full legalization.
The bill must clear the Assembly and Senate and be signed by Evers earlier than it might take impact.
Evers and LeMahieu didn’t reply to requests for feedback on the measure.
In a possible warning signal for the measure’s probabilities within the Senate, Assembly Republicans created their plan with out the involvement of Republican Sen. Mary Felzkowski, who has been the largest proponent for medical marijuana legalization within the Senate. A bill she launched in 2022 is the one one to ever get a public listening to in the Legislature.
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Evers mentioned final week in voicing assist for the idea that he had not seen an precise bill.
“I would think that getting it all done in one fell swoop would be more thoughtful as far as meeting the needs of Wisconsinites that have asked for it,” Evers mentioned. “But if that’s what we can accomplish right now, I’ll be supportive of that.”
Wisconsin stays an outlier nationally. Thirty-eight states have legalized medical marijuana and 24 have legalized leisure marijuana. The push for legalization in Wisconsin has gained momentum as its neighbors have loosened their legal guidelines.
Marquette University Law School polls have proven massive majority of Wisconsin residents have supported legalizing marijuana use for years.
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