Wisconsin Senators Hold Hearing On GOP Leader’s New Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill, With Plan To Vote On It ‘Fairly Quickly’

Wisconsin senators on Wednesday took up a newly filed Republican-led bill
that would legalize medical marijuana in the state.

Just one week after Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R) and Sen. Patrick
Testin (R) filed the legislation, the Senate Health Committee debated the
proposal at a hearing, taking testimony from patients and other advocates.
Members did not vote on the bill, but the chair said the panel would be
advancing it “fairly quickly,” potentially at its next meeting in November.

An Assembly companion version was also filed by Assemblymember Patrick
Snyder (R) and lawmakers, but it has not yet advanced in their chamber.

“Illness does not discriminate. It affects people from all walks of life.
There is no doubt that each and every one of us knows someone that has
suffered through an illness and struggled to find ways to make it through
each day,” Testin said at the hearing, describing how his grandfather used
medical cannabis to treat cancer symptoms decades ago. “While there are
often medications that doctors can prescribe to help combat these
illnesses, many come with side effects that can make living a normal life
much more difficult.”

“In some cases, the only option for pain relief is to take opioids on a
long-term basis, which can lead to a whole host of other challenges that
already afflict our state and our residents,” he said. “However, there is
an alternative.”

“Both red and blue states alike have been able to come together and
recognize that this is a viable option for patients within their respective
states, regardless of the partisan makeup of that that state,” the senator
said. “Medicine is never a one-size-fits-all, and it’s time for Wisconsin
to join the majority of the country and add another option, which may help
patients find relief they need.”

Felzkowski shared her story of overcoming breast cancer, struggling with
the side effects of opioids and other prescription medicines she was
prescribed and then asking her oncologist what they thought about the idea
of legalizing medical cannabis. The doctor told her that while marijuana is
not a miracle cure, it’s another tool in the toolbox that could benefit
many patients.

“Wisconsin is on an island surrounded by neighboring states that allow the
use of medical cannabis products. These products are not for everyone—but
for others that use opioids or other medications to treat their health
condition, the side effects of these drugs can be debilitating,” the Senate
president said. “Someone who suffers from a serious health condition should
not have to make the choice to travel to another state or break the law so
that they can try an alternative medicine for relief. Unfortunately, this
is a position in which we put many Wisconsinites.”

Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R), chair of the Health Committee, said that,
as a healthcare provider herself, she’s heard stories about the medical
potential of cannabis “all the time.” And while some providers might not
want to participate in a medical marijuana program, “there are many that
do…because we know our patients are going and purchasing these products to
manage their symptoms from other states.”

“I will also say, as someone that does prescribe medications, I would
rather my patients be upfront and truthful on what products they’re using
to manage their symptoms, than having to guess,” she said. “There are a lot
of people that will not come out and be straightforward because they’re
afraid of consequences, and I hope that this bill would eliminate that fear
that people are using for medicinal purposes to manage their conditions, so
that individuals who are prescribing can take that into consideration when
thinking of dosing and contraindications.”

Pressed on the lack of employment protections for would-be medical
marijuana patients in her legislation, Felzkowski said “everything that’s
done in this bill is to hopefully to get it to pass through both houses.”

“I always say if I was queen for a day, I’d probably write a whole bunch of
legislation differently,” she said. “But we have to make sure that
everybody in our caucuses are comfortable with legislation.”

One witness who testified was Norah Lowe, a 17-year-old with a rare
neurodevelopment condition known as Rett syndrome, who spoke to members
through computer audio given her associated speech impairment.

“My friends with Rett syndrome who use medical cannabis actually sleep
through the night and see extensive relief from painful muscle spasms. Why
can’t I get relief from mine?” she asked. “My friends who have access to
cannabis see profound improvements in their therapies and communication
skills. Why can’t I experience the same types of advancement of skills?”

She was accompanied by her mother, Megan Lowe, who also spoke to the
benefits of medical marijuana that she experienced while going through
treatment for breast cancer.

“I used it to find relief from my hot flashes, my insomnia, my crippling
anxiety, my neuropathy, my restless legs, my itchy skin—the list goes on,”
she said. “Cannabis made my cancer treatments and recovery bearable so that
I could go back and returning to caregiving for her.”

Wisconsin’s GOP Assembly speaker said earlier this month that he hopes
lawmakers in the state can “find a consensus” on legislation to legalize
medical marijuana. But he added that the new cannabis bill filed by his
Republican leadership counterpart in the Senate is “unlikely” to pass his
chamber because it is “way too broad and way too wide-ranging.”

As the 2025 session was set to get underway, Felzkowski said she was “hoping
to have a conversation” in the legislature about legalizing medical
marijuana this year—though the Republican Assembly speaker still
represented “an obstacle,” she added.

The Senate leader has previously sponsored medical cannabis legislation in
past sessions, formally introduced the new legislation.

*Here are the key provisions of the Senate president’s latest medical
marijuana bill.*

- Qualifying conditions for patients would include cancer, HIV/AIDS,
post-traumatic stress disorder, seizures or epilepsy, glaucoma, severe
chronic pain, severe muscle spasms, severe chronic nausea, Alzheimer’s
disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple
sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic motor or vocal tic disorder,
Tourette syndrome and any terminal illness with a probable life expectancy
of less than one year.
- Allowable forms of medical cannabis products would include
concentrates, oils, tinctures, edibles, pills, topical forms, gels, creams,
vapors, patches, liquids and forms administered by a nebulizer. Cannabis in
a form that could be smoked would not be allowed.
- Home cultivation would not be allowed.
- Patients could designate up to three caregivers who could purchase and
possess medical cannabis products on the their behalf.
- Patient and caregiver registrations would last for two years and could
then be renewed. The annual fee would be $20, and people could have their
registrations rescinded for being convicted of a felony or for violating
certain drug law.
- Dispensaries would be required to employ pharmacists who would need to
consult with patients or caregivers and recommend a daily dosage. A patient
getting medical marijuana for the first time could get up to a 30-day
supply and on subsequent visits could receive up to a 90-day supply.
- Patients’ use of medical cannabis would need to be recorded in the
state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
- The bill would establish parental rights and housing discrimination
protections for medical cannabis patients and caregivers, but it would
allow employers to fire or refuse to hire workers based on their use of
medical marijuana.
- Patients and caregivers could only possess medical cannabis at their
own residences or when traveling between dispensaries and their homes.
There would be a $25 civil penalty for failing to carry a registry ID card
when possessing medical marijuana or for possessing cannabis at locations
other than those specified as being allowed.
- Medical cannabis products would be exempt from sales taxes.
- The state would license cultivation, processing, laboratory and
dispensary businesses, subject to certain residency and eligibility
requirements and annual fees and penalties for violations.
- A new Office of Medical Cannabis Regulation would be established under
the Department of Health Services to oversee the patient and caregiver
registry and dispensaries. Its director would be appointed by the governor.
- The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection would
oversee and regulate cannabis cultivation, processing and testing.
- Localities would not be able to regulate medical cannabis businesses
or restrict their zoning.

Meanwhile, a Republican candidate for governor of Wisconsin said in July
that he was “open to considering different opportunities” when it comes to
legalizing medical or adult-use marijuana in the state, though he has
provided little in the way of specifics so far.

On the Democratic side, current Gov. Tony Evers (D), who supports
legalizing cannabis, will not be seeking re-election. But he said in June
that if his party can take control of the legislature, the state can
“finally” legalize marijuana so that residents don’t have to go to
neighboring Illinois to visit its adult-use market.

Separately in June, a poll from Marquette Law School found that two in
three Wisconsin voters support legalizing marijuana.

The survey found that support for cannabis reform has generally increased
over time since the institution first started tracking public opinion on
legalization in 2013, with 67 percent of voters now backing the policy
change. That’s 17 percentage points higher than the 2013 results.

Democrats are the most likely to favor legalizing cannabis, at 88 percent,
followed by independents (79 percent). However, a majority of Republicans
(56 percent) said they’re still opposed to adult-use legalization.

Underscoring the importance of party control, the state’s
Republican-controlled Senate and Assembly this summer rejected another
attempt to legalize marijuana, defeating amendments to budget legislation
that would have ended prohibition in the state and established new medical
and recreational cannabis programs.

Evers has routinely attempted to change that policy as part of his budget
requests—and Democratic leaders have similarly pushed for reform.

Republicans in the legislature also cut the marijuana provisions from a
state budget proposal in May, as they’ve done in past sessions.

Despite Republicans’ move to cut legalization from the budget legislation, party
leaders recently acknowledged that the debate over medical marijuana
legalization is “not going to go away,” and there’s hope it can be resolved
this session.


*— Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon
supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps,
charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.*


*Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on
Patreon to get access. —*

“I don’t think anyone is naive enough to think that marijuana and THC
products aren’t present in the state of Wisconsin when they are readily
available over state lines, so I think we need to come to an answer on
this,” Assembly Majority Leader Rep. Tyler August (R) said in February.
“I’m hopeful that we can.”

“If we’re going to call it medical marijuana, it needs to be treated like a
pharmaceutical. But the marijuana debate is going to be something that is
not going to go away,” Sen. Dan Feyen (R), the assistant majority leader,
said at the time. “The margins are tighter.”

There have been repeated attempts to legalize medical marijuana in the
legislature over recent years, including the introduction of legislation
from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) that called for a limited program
facilitated through state-run dispensaries. That proved controversial among
his Republican colleagues, however, and it ultimately stalled out last year.

Evers previewed his plan to include marijuana legalization in his budget in
January, while also arguing that residents of the state should be allowed
to propose new laws by putting binding questions on the ballot—citing the
fact that issues such as cannabis reform enjoy sizable bipartisan support
while the GOP-controlled legislature has repeatedly refused to act.

Previously, in 2022, the governor signed an executive order to convene a
special legislative session with the specific goal of giving people the
right to put citizen initiatives on the ballot, raising hopes among
advocates that cannabis legalization could eventually be decided by voters.
The GOP legislature did not adopt the proposal, however.

Evers said in December that marijuana reform is one of several key
priorities the state should pursue in the 2025 session, as lawmakers work
with a budget surplus.

Days after he made the remarks, a survey found the reform would be welcomed
by voters in rural parts of the state. Nearly two thirds (65 percent) said
they support legalizing cannabis.

Last May, the governor said he was “hopeful” that the November 2024
election would lead to Democratic control of the legislature, in part
because he argued it would position the state to finally legalize cannabis.

“We’ve been working hard over the last five years, several budgets, to make
that happen,” he said at the time. “I know we’re surrounded by states with
recreational marijuana, and we’re going to continue to do it.”

A Wisconsin Democratic Assemblymember tried to force a vote on a medical
cannabis compromise proposal last year, as an amendment to an unrelated
kratom bill, but he told Marijuana Moment he suspects leadership intentionally
pulled that legislation from the agenda at the last minute to avoid a
showdown on the issue.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Revenue released a fiscal estimate of
the economic impact of a legalization bill from then-Sen. Melissa Agard (D)
in 2023, projecting that the reform would generate nearly $170 million
annually in tax revenue.

A legislative analysis requested by lawmakers estimated that Wisconsin
residents spent more than $121 million on cannabis in Illinois alone in
2022, contributing $36 million in tax revenue to the neighboring state.

Evers and other Democrats have since at least last January insisted that
they would be willing to enact a modest medical marijuana program, even if
they’d prefer more comprehensive reform.

*Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.*

The post Wisconsin Senators Hold Hearing On GOP Leader’s New Medical
Marijuana Legalization Bill, With Plan To Vote On It ‘Fairly Quickly’
appeared first on Marijuana Moment.