Fresh off Election Day, with two states—Maryland and Missouri—newly legalizing adult-use cannabis, a newly reelected Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers is already holding firm on his promise to legalize cannabis in the state, Marijuana Moment reports.
Wisconsin voters in three counties and five municipalities affirmed their support for cannabis on Tuesday through non-binding advisory questions on the ballot. Nine measures qualified for the ballot, and each was approved by a wide margin.
Evers is now pushing lawmakers to pass legislation to allow residents to add cannabis policy reform measures onto the statewide ballot, as there are currently no means to do so, leaving activists to focus their efforts locally until policy shifts.
On Wednesday, Evers discussed legalizing cannabis at a press conference when he was asked about his upcoming 2023-2015 budget proposal. The governor said it will include legalizing cannabis, which will allow lawmakers to then discuss and see if they want to carry forward.
“At some point in time, the will of the people will become the law of the land,” Evers said on Wednesday. “I sure the hell hope it happens within the next four years because we just can’t, as a state, continue to say, ‘well, 80% of the people want X’ and we try to do X and then nothing happens.”
Evers continued, calling this an “irresponsible way to operate a state: “We’re not giving up on any of those issues. The will of the people is the law of the land.”
The governor has continually fought for legal cannabis in Wisconsin throughout the years. He included cannabis legalization on his 2021 budget and decriminalization and medical cannabis in his 2019 proposal, but the GOP blocked both reforms. Evers has also issued a number of pardons—more than 600 total—for individuals convicted of cannabis-related offenses.
“It is one of the most rewarding parts of my job as governor to have the opportunity to grant a fresh start to folks who’ve made efforts to learn and grow from their past mistakes,” Evers said in August.
Evers isn’t alone in his efforts, as state lawmakers have also filed bills to legalize recreational cannabis. Despite the continued push, the legislature has yet to pass proposals for decriminalization or medical cannabis, let alone an adult-use market.
In order to advance cannabis reform in Wisconsin, Democrats would have to flip multiple Senate and Assembly seats. Republicans still don’t have enough seats to claim a supermajority in the Assembly, immune from vetoes, though they still have a majority in both chambers. Given the past and the lack of Democratic control, it’s unlikely that the current GOP members will help to advance the 2023-2025 budget.
The multiple approved cannabis measures from this year’s election aren’t the only indication that the continued rejection of cannabis reform is counter to the beliefs of Wisconsinites. An August poll, conducted by Marquette Law School, found that a majority of residents from all party affiliations support legal adult-use cannabis.
A total of 69% of respondents showed support for legalizing cannabis—including 81% of Democrats, 75% of Independents and 515 of Republicans. The only groups without a majority in favor of legal cannabis were respondents who identified as “very conservative” (26%), those who attended church one weekly or more than once a week (39% and 34%, respectively) and “born again” Protestant Christians (47%).
While the odds may be stacked against him, other lawmakers and cannabis advocates, he’s consistently held firm, referencing this support and calling out the disadvantages of pressing on without reform.
In 2021, Evers held a virtual town hall event to discuss his cannabis proposal and emphasize the support of Wisconsin residents. He specifically nodded to Wisconsin’s neighbor to the south, Illinois, where cannabis is legal, specifically citing the state’s loss of revenue as residents head beyond the border to purchase cannabis products.
“Frankly I’m kind of tired of talking to the governor from Illinois,” he said in a video posted to Twitter. “Whenever I get with him, he thanks me for having Wisconsinites cross the border to buy marijuana.”
