Republicans Introduce Controversial Bill to Partially Legalize Medical Marijuana

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A dozen Republican state lawmakers 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 Sen. Mary Felzkowski, lead author of the 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.”

When she introduced the bill, Felzkowski spoke of her own experience with prescription opioids: “When I was 40, I was diagnosed with cancer the first time, and then the second time was when I was 50 in 2014. There were about nine months where I lived on oxycoton and hydrocodone. It was debilitating.” She brought forth marijuana advocates who testified to the fact that states with medical marijuana programs see opioid overdoses “decrease by 25%,” highlighting the need for marijuana as a painkilling, non-addictive alternative to opioids.

While it seems, superficially, like a progressive initiative, this proposal has received plenty of criticism from supporters of marijuana reform. Felzkowski’s bill would only legalize cannabis preparations in the forms of oils, pills, tinctures and topicals while explicitly banning any smokable and inhalable products. It would also ban home cultivation, which is a hallmark of accessible, cheap medical marijuana.

“If people are smoking it, others in the room, mainly children, would be exposed to it," Felzkowski said to justify the restrictive nature of the bill. "I know that inhaling is the fastest form of absorption and that a lot of people would like that, but this was kind of a compromise.”

Big Pharma Moves In

In its current form, Felzkowski’s proposal is very similar to a proposal defended by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. Vos has, in the past, shot down multiple attempts to reform the state’s cannabis laws. Despite his professed support for medical marijuana, the only form of legal marijuana he is willing to pass is a “very limited version,” in pill form, that would be sold for profit and controlled by the very same predatory healthcare companies—his largest campaign donor—who manufactured the opioid crisis that Felzkowski now decries. “I am still trying to find a way to [legalize medical marijuana] so that people accept the fact that we are not going to legalize recreational marijuana,” Robin Vos declared, entirely ignoring the fact that a supermajority of Wisconsinites voted in favor of widely legal marijuana.

“This prioritizes pharmaceutical companies over our farmers and our Main Streets. Not including plants and inhalants is a real miss for my Republican colleagues," said state Rep. Kristina Shelton.

Shelton, who is one of Wisconsin’s most fervent defenders of cannabis reform, pointed out the GOP’s hypocrisy with this new bill. “Last week, they voted to further create additional penalties but then they’re putting this bill out this week, so it seems to me that they’re talking both sides of their mouth,” Shelton said.

Harsher Penalties

She is referring to AB440, a Republican bill that aims to harshen penalties for Wisconsinites manufacturing or possessing marijuana products obtained through butane extraction. The bill was decried by the Shepherd Express last October as those products are very common, easily purchased across the border and brought back to Wisconsin; the GOP bill 440 increases the penalty for possession of personal-use amounts of marijuana concentrates from 3.5 years to 15 years in prison. The bill passed. It was presented to Gov. Tony Evers at the beginning of February 2022.

Shelton introduced an amendment to AB440 to address the fact that the bill makes no distinction between home labs prone to chemical volatility—the original reason why the GOP wanted to ban butane extraction and all products derived from it—and professional manufacturers who create butane-derived marijuana products in a safe environment. “When cannabis is legal, this bill will make it illegal for experts to do their jobs,” Shelton pointed out. “83% of Wisconsinites support medical pot and 59% support full legalization. Wisconsin is very clear about where we stand on this issue.” Naturally, her common-sense amendment was defeated by Republican colleagues following party lines.

In the Senate, progressive state senators tried to introduce an amendment of their own, spearheaded by marijuana legalization champion Sen. Melissa Agard, which aimed to graft itself to the bill 440 and legalize adult-use cannabis. It was promptly shot down along the same party lines.

“Legalization is just one example of how the GOP continues to ignore the will of the people in Wisconsin,” Agard said in response to the defeat of her amendment. “We need action on this topic and a myriad of others; expanding BadgerCare, non-partisan redistricting, curbing climate change, addressing the on-going pandemic, increasing wages, and so much more. I know that when we put people first, we achieve great things. And when we put people first, we create opportunity and prosperity for all of our friends and neighbors. I am disappointed in the lack of this ideal within GOP leadership. We have to do better. We must be better.”