Wisconsin is now an island surrounded by a sea of legal pot, with medical marijuana being allowed in Minnesota and recreational use legal in Canada, Michigan and, most recently, Illinois. By the beginning of 2020, both Illinois and Michigan dispensaries will be freely selling marijuana. This begs the question: Can Wisconsinites just cross a state line and buy legal marijuana in neighboring states?
The long-and-short of it is “no.” Not only is marijuana still banned in Wisconsin, but transporting it across state lines is a federal crime, even if recreational marijuana is legal in the place where it originates. In fact, crossing the state line with cannabis from a legal state to another legal state—for instance, from California to Oregon—is still strictly prohibited according to federal law. Moreover, although Illinois residents can possess up to one ounce of marijuana, out-of-staters will be limited to half of that: 15 grams.
However, there is little doubt we will witness some form of mass movement toward states where marijuana is legal, be it to simply buy and consume it on location—such as many non-Dutch Europeans do in Amsterdam, Netherlands—or to bring it, albeit illegally, back home to Wisconsin.
Bracing for the Green Rush
For pot lovers in southern Wisconsin, New Year’s Day, 2020, is a day to mark on the calendar, as it’s when Illinois dispensaries will start legally selling marijuana to anyone 21 years old or older. As Madison and Milwaukee are close enough to make the trip and back in a couple of hours, dispensaries near the border expect a large portion of their clientele to come from the Badger State starting that very day.
Amy Manganelli, who runs the Illinois dispensary Mapleglen Care Center near the Wisconsin border, as quoted in Madison’s The Capital Times, attests there is keen interest from Wisconsinites. “We have gotten hundreds of phone calls since May from people saying they’re in Wisconsin and asking if we’ll be open on Jan. 1” she said.
“I think Wisconsinites will go to Illinois and Michigan to get cannabis,” says Alan Robinson, executive director at the Wisconsin branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), which aims to educate the electorate on everything related to marijuana. “We can also expect the police to ramp up their rhetoric.” Increased police presence and traffic stops are to be expected near the border starting Wednesday, Jan. 1. “But I don’t think the police will have an easy time stopping them,” he adds. “The police can’t distinguish hemp flower and marijuana. The smell of fresh flower does not give the police probable cause, as hemp is totally legal here.”
A Boon for Black Market Cannabis
Robinson warns that Wisconsin is in a particularly precarious situation, now that it became so easy for residents to get marijuana. “Our black market for cannabis here will increase dramatically [after Illinois’ legalization day]; medical and recreational users will cross the border to get access to cannabis, and you can expect to see more cannabis available in Wisconsin. And that is not a good thing. When those products go into the black market, they become unregulated and unsafe.” One solution for him: legalization and regulation in Wisconsin, to offer a safe alternative.
This is not a new phenomenon. For instance, when recreational marijuana became legal in Colorado, it kick-started a large smuggling ring to obtain legal pot there, either by growing or buying it, and then exporting it to other states where it remained illegal. “It is becoming almost routine across much of the country—law enforcement intercepting Colorado marijuana products being exported to other states,” explains PBS reporter John Ferrugia.
