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CBD dispensary neon sign
Sun Prairie’s Jimmie the Groundhog bucked national trends on Monday by predicting an early spring. Wisconsin’s Democratic legislators are hoping for similar good news with the introduction of a 104-page bill aimed to fully legalize marijuana in the Badger State.
The bill is the most recent in a lengthening line of bipartisan legislation looking to bring Wisconsin fully or partially in step with neighbors Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota, and the growing national trend toward legal weed. The list includes a bill introduced in September 2025 by state Republicans and still under by consideration by the legislature.
“Legalization of cannabis is not radical,” Rep. Darrin Madison (D-Milwaukee) said during a Monday press conference at the State Capitol. “What’s radical is continuing a system that destroys lives, drains resources and ignores the will of the people. Wisconsin’s ready.”
The lengthy bill considers a wide variety of aspects in supporting Democrats’ position on legalization, including further defining the difference between hemp and marijuana. Specifically:
- Hemp would be defined as a cannabis product containing up to 10 milligrams of an intoxicating cannabinoid such as delta-9 THC per 12 fluid ounces, per serving, or per package of edibles. Any cannabis product with higher concentrations of intoxicating cannabinoids would be considered marijuana.
- The state would establish a “Division of Cannabis Regulation” within its Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. The division would be responsible for overseeing cannabis production, processing, transportation and testing. In order to sell marijuana in a dispensary, a business would need to be licensed by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.
- Adults 21 or older could purchase and process marijuana and hemp THC products. Consumers 18 and younger, the later with parental permission, could register as marijuana medical patients if diagnosed as suffering from qualifying conditions, including AIDS/HIV, Alzheimer’s or Crohn’s diseases, PTSD, or any other medical condition or treatment the state Department of Health Services designates by rule as a debilitating medical condition.
- Marijuana would be subject to 10% excise taxes for both producers and processors, a 5% state tax for dealers with an option for an additional 5% tax administered by individual localities, with an additional 3% tax for non-medical purchasers.
Reconsidering Sentences
The bill also includes a provision for a reconsideration of sentences for individuals previously convicted for violations of existing marijuana laws prior to legalization. There also are provisions for employment protections for those who use marijuana during their free time, as opposed to work time.
“If I’m going to boil down what marijuana legalization is really about, it’s super simple,” said Rep. Andrew Hysell (D-Sun Prairie). “Legalization is about freedom—the freedom of adults to make up their own mind and to make their own choice whether or not to consume cannabis. In the United States, Wisconsin is an outlier in terms of denying people this freedom. We are only one of a few states that completely ban the marijuana plant.”
Despite bipartisan interest in marijuana legalization, passage of the bill remains dubious with Republicans still in control of both chambers of the legislature.
“Standing in the way of the people’s freedom is not good politics,” Hysell added. “Almost 70% of Wisconsinites want full adult-use legalization and even more want medical availability. Wisconsin residents deserve the freedom to make their own choices about cannabis, so let’s give them that right. It’s time.”
