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Wisconsin sign with marijuana leaf
The people want legal marijuana; only a handful of business interests and ideologies which ignore facts remain standing in the way towards progress. But even Republicans are starting to wake up to the changing status quo.
When questioned about marijuana reform on Wisconsin Public Radio, Republican state Rep. Jim Steineke admitted that the state is on its way towards reform, despite Republican heel-digging. “Obviously other states throughout the country are moving in that direction. I think that's likely the direction at some point with the state of Wisconsin,” Rep. Steineke said.
This comes as a new poll by Marquette University Law School found that 61% of Wisconsin residents want legal marijuana. It is the highest level of support ever recorded by Marquette for marijuana.
In 2013, when the question was first asked of respondents, only 50% were in favor of legalization. In the last decade, not only did outward support increase, but so did undecided responses. Proponents of illegal marijuana shrank from 45% to 31% today.
Democrats saw an increase in support, from 53% to 75% in favor of legal weed over a decade; but Republicans saw the more significant progress. At its lowest, Republican support for cannabis reform was as low as 29%. In this new poll, for the first time in Marquette Law’s surveys, a majority of Republicans wants legal marijuana. The majority is slim, just 51%, but it is more than ever before, as it goes against the Republican Party’s promise to maintain the illegal status of marijuana.
It is not so surprising to see rising, soon-to-be overwhelming support for cannabis reform, after Wisconsin residents voted en masse for legalization in 2018. The advisory referendums of 2018 saw nearly 1 million votes cast, more than 60% of which were in favor of legal marijuana. In Milwaukee County, 70% of voters explicitly wanted legalized, taxed and regulated recreational marijuana.
Republicans Try to Co-opt Reform
This wind of change among public opinion has been reflected in the fact that Wisconsin saw attempts by Republican lawmakers to reform cannabis laws. Just last month, a dozen Republicans in the state Legislature, led by Sen. Mary Felzkowski, introduced a bill aiming to partially legalize medical marijuana in Wisconsin.
“This is not a Republican issue and this is not a Democrat issue,” said Felzkowski in defense of her bill. “When you look at the map of states where medical marijuana is legal, you will see conservative states like Florida and South Dakota and more liberal states like California and New York offering a compassionate option for those who need relief. It is time to have the conversation in the state of Wisconsin.”
However, as evidenced by the fact that Democrats vowed to legalize marijuana and republicans vowed to keep it illegal, this sentiment does not reflect reality. Wisconsin Republican lawmakers have even demonstrated a willingness to set the engine of progress to reverse: They introduced and subsequently passed a regressive bill that would increase the maximum penalty for simple, non-violent possession of a personal-use amount of marijuana from 3.5 years in prison to a whopping 15 years of incarceration. Gov. Tony Evers had to veto it.
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos himself declared in the past that “[the Legislature is] not going to legalize recreational marijuana.” The only form of marijuana supported by the Republican establishment has long been the most repressive and regressive form of it: marijuana pills, manufactured and sold for profit by healthcare corporations, difficult to access and expensive.
“I think it’s more likely that legalization occurs when it comes to medical marijuana, using it for the purposes of alleviating pain and treating some illnesses,” Rep. Steineke added. “Recreational marijuana, I think, has a much tougher path to get through the Legislature and eventually signed into law, but I do think we’re headed in that direction. It’s just finding the right legislation that is tight enough to pass.”
It seems likely that cannabis reform will come in two steps in Wisconsin, starting with medical marijuana before even considering recreational use. Most states follow the same pattern, and it serves to ease into a new status quo. However, it is now obvious that Republican lawmakers are abundantly aware of the public opinion’s perception of marijuana. They even recognize the inevitability of legalization. The question is what form cannabis reform will take: Will it be the progressive Democrat version, or will it be the anemic Republican version?
