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Medical marijuana dispensary sign
Wisconsin is just one of the eight states that still has not legalized cannabis for medical or recreational consumption. That puts the Badger State in league with Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Wyoming. Slightly more than half of those states are run by Republican governors.
Nevertheless, the push is on among state Democratic legislators to change Wisconsin’s tolerance for legal weed, putting it more in line with neighboring Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota, which have no trouble helping Badger State border-hoppers get high while financially reaping the benefits. According to reports, in 2022 visiting Wisconsin residents spent an estimated $36.1 million on cannabis products in Illinois alone.
Taxation on cannabis sales in those states is often used to address the financial and social needs of the state’s citizens. Wisconsin’s reluctance to get fully in the game constitutes an estimated loss of $166 million annually in tax revenue compared to neighboring states.
What’s Holding Us Back?
So, what is the deal with Wisconsin? What is keeping our laws from changing, and how long will it take to turn this reality around? The Shepherd Express spoke to several Milwaukee-based Democratic legislators and their answers weren’t surprising.
“The message has always been that cannabis is a drug, it is unsafe for people, and it should not be legalized,” says Rep. Darrin Madison, who represents Wisconsin’s 10th Assembly District. “Politics plays a part of it, too, but some of the biggest opponents to legalization are those in the alcohol beverage industry, who see legalization of cannabis as competition.”
Rep. Ryan Clancy, who represents the state’s 19th district, agrees. “Legalization has been a long time coming, and it’s not that the public doesn’t want this—they do,” says Clancy, former co-owner of the now defunct Bay View bar and recreational facility Bounce Milwaukee. “If I had to sum up our inability to go forward in two words, they would be (Republican Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker) ‘Robin Vos.’ He doesn’t want to give the Dems a win.”
Sen. Chris Larson, who represents southeast Milwaukee County, also is critical about the political opposition to legalization, particularly from the Tavern League of Wisconsin and its members. “We have more taverns per capita than other parts of the country and the worst drunk driving laws in the nation. The alcohol industry feels cannabis legalization would dimmish their income and power.”
Moving the Needle
Having more Democrats in the senate and assembly would help move the needle in a more tolerant direction, the legislators agree. And, surprisingly, so too may the new federal law signed in November as part of the bill to end the federal government shutdown.
Spearheaded by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the addition to the law seeks to close the loophole formed by the federal Farm Bill of 2018, which legalized hemp by removing it from the definition of marijuana, allowing for its cultivation and production. Savvy entrepreneurs have since created a $28 billion business in gummies, soft drinks and other consumables that contain what is considered a “safe” level of THC, the element that gets a user high. Ironically, the original Farm Bill was also pushed through by McConnell and his cohorts.
What this means for growers, producers, retailers and others who have built a business inside this loophole is that, come Nov. 13, 2026, when the bill becomes final, they will be out business for good unless there are changes in the laws as they stand now.
In Wisconsin alone, this side industry constitutes about $700 million in sales annually. For those trying to legalize cannabis for recreational and medical usage, this means there are a lot more people with skin in the game who will favor the elimination of all cannabis restrictions, if only for the sake of their enterprises.
“Because we have the 12-month period before the ban goes into full effect, we are still in a gray space on how things should proceed,” Madison says. “It’s important to save those 500 retail locations in the state, as well as growing operations so that those who have established themselves in the space aren’t displaced.”
Legalization Legislation?
The greater socialization to cannabis that this industry has provided may enable an easier passage of whatever laws come down the road from the November bill, Madison adds. Still, the legislators are unsure how this bill ultimately will affect legalization overall, including in the 42 states that already have legal weed of all kinds at their residents’ disposal.
“Hopefully, this will light a fire under folks here and help create more legislation around legalization,” Ryan says. “The real fear is that we are going to rush to do something that will undermine these efforts.”
One of the key questions is how to handle the expungement of laws and arrest records for those taken into custody when the drug was still illegal. Right now, however, the state must move forward to strengthen the laws it has and look to full legalization in order to create a stronger position from which to address the change in laws.
“The clearer states like Colorado and California have been on full legalization, the better the residents and small businesses will fare in surviving the change,” Ryan adds. “States like Wisconsin that have done little or nothing undoubtedly will suffer the worst.”
