According to a recent poll, two in three Wisconsin residents support the legalization of marijuana. The announcement comes on top of another reform call by Wisconsin’s Democratic Governor.
Marquette Law School’s poll shows that public support for legalizing cannabis has steadily increased since 2013. Currently, 67 per cent of respondents are in favor.
It’s a 17-point increase over the results of 2013. Democrats (88%) and independents (79%%) are more likely than other groups to be in favor of legalizing cannabis. A majority (56%) of Republicans are against adult-use marijuana legalization.
“Support for legalization grew to more than 60 percent in 2022, where it has remained since,” the survey—which involved interviews with 873 Wisconsin registered voters from June 13-19—says. The margin of error is +/-4.7 percent points.
Although marijuana reforms have been repeatedly blocked in the GOP controlled legislature, Governor. Tony Evers, a Democrat from New York City, said recently that the state could “finally” become marijuana-friendly if Democrats gain control over the Assembly and Senate after the new district maps are drawn.
“If we want to finally end the obstruction of Madison, we have to get to work—and we can’t wait. He said, “We must start now.” If we want to have majorities in the Legislature that can finally accomplish things, our work must begin now.
Dianne Hesselbein spoke briefly about the topic at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s 2025 convention, earlier this month. “We will also legalize Cannabis” she said.
Evers’ state budget plan, which included plans to regulate and legalize marijuana, was cut by Republicans a few months ago.
The actions are a repeat of two years ago, when GOP members of the same committee removed proposals to legalize cannabis for recreational and medical use from the governor’s biennial executive budget at that time.
Evers included the latest marijuana legalization plan in his biennial budget request to lawmakers in February, projecting at the time that the change would result in “$58.1 million in revenue in fiscal year 2026-27 and growing amounts in future years.”
In Wisconsin, marijuana is prohibited for medical and recreational purposes.
It would have been imposed that a wholesale tax of 15 percent and retail tax of 10 percent be imposed on cannabis recreational products. The proposal would also “create a procedure for those serving prison sentences, or who have been convicted for marijuana-related offenses to be able to reduce or repeal their sentences.”
The companion bills that were filed in tandem with the governor’s budget request stipulate that all revenue collected from the proposed cannabis taxes will be deposited into the state general fund.
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Despite Republicans’ move to cut legalization from the budget legislation, party leaders recently acknowledged that the debate over medical marijuana legalization is “not going to go away,” and there’s hope it can be resolved this session.
Tyler August (R), Assembly Majority leader, said: “I’m not sure anyone can be so naive as to assume that THC and marijuana products don’t exist in Wisconsin. These are easily available outside of the state. We need to find a solution to this.” I’m optimistic that we will be able to.”
If we are going to label it as medical marijuana, then it must be treated just like any other pharmaceutical. “But the marijuana debate won’t go away,” said Sen. Dan Feyen, the assistant majority leader at that time. “The margins of victory are smaller.”
There have been repeated attempts to legalize medical marijuana in the legislature over recent years, including the introduction of legislation from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) that called for a limited program facilitated through state-run dispensaries. It was controversial, though, amongst his Republican peers, and the legislation ultimately died last year.
Evers previewed his plan to include marijuana legalization in his budget in January, while also arguing that residents of the state should be allowed to propose new laws by putting binding questions on the ballot—citing the fact that issues such as cannabis reform enjoy sizable bipartisan support while the GOP-controlled legislature has repeatedly refused to act.
Previously, in 2022, the governor signed an executive order to convene a special legislative session with the specific goal of giving people the right to put citizen initiatives on the ballot, raising hopes among advocates that cannabis legalization could eventually be decided by voters. However, the GOP did not accept this proposal.
Evers said in December that marijuana reform is one of several key priorities the state should pursue in the 2025 session, as lawmakers work with a budget surplus.
Days after he made the remarks, a survey found the reform would be welcomed by voters in rural parts of the state. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65%) support the legalization of cannabis.
Last May, the governor said he was “hopeful” that the November 2024 election would lead to Democratic control of the legislature, in part because he argued it would position the state to finally legalize cannabis.
He said, “We have been hard at work for the past five years and several budgets to achieve this.” I know that we are surrounded by other states who have legalized recreational marijuana. We will continue doing it.
A Wisconsin Democratic Assemblymember tried to force a vote on a medical cannabis compromise proposal last year, as an amendment to an unrelated kratom bill, but he told MEDCAN24 he suspects leadership intentionally pulled that legislation from the agenda at the last minute to avoid a showdown on the issue.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Revenue released a fiscal estimate of the economic impact of a legalization bill from then-Sen. Melissa Agard (D) in 2023, projecting that the reform would generate nearly $170 million annually in tax revenue.
A legislative analysis requested by lawmakers estimated that Wisconsin residents spent more than $121 million on cannabis in Illinois alone in 2022, contributing $36 million in tax revenue to the neighboring state.
Evers and other Democrats have since at least last January insisted that they would be willing to enact a modest medical marijuana program, even if they’d prefer more comprehensive reform.
Marijuana Opponents ‘Have Lost’ The Debate, GOP Senator Says, Arguing ‘It’s Time’ To Regulate It Like Alcohol And Tobacco
Philip Steffan is the photographer.
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