If you live in Milwaukee County, the cities of Racine or Waukesha, or in 15 other counties, not only will Election Day give you an opportunity to change the direction of our state and begin to move it forward again, but it will also give you a chance to express your opinion on whether Wisconsin should legalize medical marijuana or even recreational marijuana. It is advisory since Wisconsin doesn’t have binding referendums, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important. A strong vote will let legislators know that their constituents are serious and want Wisconsin to move into the 21st century. Assuming a positive vote on the referendum, legislation will then have to be drafted and introduced, and there will be more opportunities to provide input and to help shape the legislation.
Cannabis (marijuana) has gone mainstream, and residents in 31 states have legal access to cannabis in some form—either medical alone or both medical and recreational. After Tuesday, Nov. 6, if the polls are accurate, voters in Michigan, Missouri and Utah will join those 31 states with legal cannabis. States like Colorado and Washington have been the leaders in this movement, and all the fears promulgated by the right have not come to be. Research in those states has shown, for example, that auto accidents did not increase nor did the other scare tactic predictions come to be.
What has happened, however, is that people with PTSD, epilepsy, asthma and nausea from cancer and other medications can now find relief due to cannabis. In some states where marijuana was legalized, nonviolent individuals incarcerated for simple marijuana use have been released from prison, saving hundreds of millions of dollars that can be used to lower taxes or provide more resources for education and roads. Furthermore, legal medical marijuana is regulated for purity and strength. Also, legal marijuana is taxed, thus bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars that, again, can either lower you taxes or provide more resources for education and roads.
Gov. Walker has aggressively opposed legalization of cannabis—including medical marijuana—because he feels it would hurt his chances in some of the Republican primaries throughout the country in 2020; yes, according to some of his close friends, Walker is definitely planning to run again for president if he wins re-election.
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Along with providing a strong vote for legalization of cannabis on Tuesday, Nov. 6, it is important to vote for Tony Evers and Josh Kaul who will listen to the voters on the issues of marijuana.
Read the rest of our endorsements for the 2018 midterm election here.
