Wisconsin is a regional outlier: Bordering three legal-cannabis states in Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota, it has yet to legalize even medical marijuana. Many state residents can easily drive over state lines to make purchases, however, depriving Wisconsin of millions in sales tax dollars. Republicans have blocked reform for years. But with changes in the state capitol, elected Democrats are signaling that a larger push on cannabis is coming.
Governor Tony Evers (D) is discussing marijuana legalization as he tours Wisconsin to pitch his budget for the next legislative session in 2025. At a public event in Appleton on December 2, he cited legalization second among his priorities.
“Expanding Badger Care [Medicaid], legalizing marijuana, protecting access to reproductive health care, enacting common-sense gun safety reform, moving forward on evidence-based justice reform, protecting our environment and investing in our kids and schools at every level,” Evers listed.
It’s more than an idle wishlist, when there’s a new political reality in the state. For years, Wisconsin politics has been defined by a gerrymandered legislature giving Republicans the majorities to stop the Democratic governor implementing his key agenda items. Earlier in 2024, those legislative maps were thrown out by the state Supreme Court (following a key judicial election in 2023 that saw liberal-leaning justices regain a majority on the court), and Gov. Evers signed new maps into law.
Democrats picked up four state Senate seats—ending a GOP supermajority with the power to override a governor’s veto.
Then in November, even as Donald Trump (R) narrowly won Wisconsin in the presidential election, Democrats performed strongly in state-level races. As well as gaining 10 seats in the state Assembly to narrow the Republican majority, they also picked up four Senate seats—ending a GOP supermajority with the power to override a governor’s veto.
Polling from Marquette University Law School shows clear majorities of Wisconsin voters supporting both adult-use marijuana legalization (61 percent) and medical legalization (86 percent). Evers and his allies will also be well aware that, based on the state’s own estimates, neighboring Illinois has raised tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue from out-of-state cannabis purchases by Wisconsin residents—money that could instead by raised by Wisconsin’s state and local governments.
Republican lawmakers have long blocked cannabis legalization, which Evers has supported for years. Earlier in 2024, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R), who argued Wisconsin should prioritize medical legalization first, put forth a bill to do exactly that. But in February, he announced the medical bill was “dead,” with Senate Republicans objecting to the proposal of state-run dispensaries. Senator Melissa Agard (D), a pro-cannabis lawmaker who has introduced her own adult-use bill, called the GOP’s effort “smoke and mirrors.”
As the issue has repeatedly stalled in Madison, Wisconsin advocates have continued to build support for reform. In September, a group of Indigenous nation representatives launched the Wisconsin Wellness campaign, aimed at promoting medical legalization through education.
Pero told Filter that he would like to see Wisconsin take a more “phased” approach, starting with medical before expanding to full legalization.
The group is directed by Rob Pero, a member of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians and owner of a cannabis cultivation and product company; Michael Decorah, senior intergovernmental affairs specialist for the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin; and Kristin White Eagle, District II Representative for the Ho-Chunk Nation.
Pero told Filter that he would like to see Wisconsin take a more “phased” approach, starting with medical before expanding to full legalization. Comparing neighbors Illinois and Minnesota, he sees Minnesota’s approach—of developing regulations more slowly over time for hemp, medical and adult use—as the better model.
“Let’s get all that revenue,” he said of adult-use sales, “but we have people that truly need the medicine first and we have to prioritize that. People, whether they’re on chemo, or have Parkinson’s or PTSD—this is truly a medicine, and can provide relief. Prioritizing this as a medicine first is where I’d like to see it go.”
The issue of marijuana has often tested boundaries between federal, state and Indigenous sovereignty. Earlier in 2024, for instance, a tribe in North Carolina chose to legalize, drawing unwanted attention and threats from the two Republicans representing the state in the United States Senate. And in Wisconsin itself, marijuana sparked direct federal action in 2015: The DEA raided a cannabis farm on the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin reservation, seizing and destroying 30,000 plants, despite the tribe’s claim it was growing non-intoxicating hemp, intended for lawful research and industrial use.
Indigenous nations in Wisconsin, Pero said, are wary of exercising their sovereignty on this issue and inviting potential law enforcement backlash.
“There is massive trauma from the War on Drugs that still exists in Indian country,” he said. “Knowing we are incarcerated at much higher rates, have higher PTSD, we have the most serving veterans of any ethnicity. There’s a lot happening that is killing people [in our communities]. The priority for tribes is to protect their citizens.”
Besides Wellness Wisconsin, Pero has also founded the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association (ICIA), to build momentum for reform. Several Wisconsin tribes have signed on in support of the group’s advocacy. Besides factors like the benefits of cannabis access and ending arrests, there is of course an economic incentive. Like cities and towns generally, tribes that embraced cannabis sales could hope to attract visitors and make money through sales taxes and tourism. That’s a point raised by a leader of the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe Nation, which joined the ICIA.
“Cannabis and hemp provide new opportunities and new forms of revenue to consider beyond our casino revenue,” said Tribal President John D. Johnson Sr. in March. “We have a growing population and we may need more than our casino revenue in the future to provide for our community. This could be another revenue source that would create more job opportunities than we already offer to tribal and non-tribal people as the region’s leading economic engine and employer.”
“We surveyed as many [legislators] as we could, and 100 percent agreed that cannabis should be legal in at least medicinal form.”
Wisconsin’s next legislative session begins on January 6. Marijuana legalization is certain to be part of the conversation, even if it remains to be seen how high it will be on lawmakers’ agendas. Republicans retain majorities in both chambers, even if they can no longer override Evers’ vetoes. And there is still significant opposition to adult-use legalization, at least. An analysis by Wisconsin Watch found that groups that have lobbied lawmakers against cannabis reform since 2003 include the Wisconsin Medical Society, the Chiefs of Police Association and Wisconsin Family Action.
Pero expressed hope that 2025 could be when Wisconsin finally legalizes, for medical use for a start, and said the time is now for advocates to develop relationships and speak with lawmakers.
“We surveyed as many [legislators] as we could, and 100 percent agreed that cannabis should be legal in at least medicinal form,” he said. “At this point, what we’re trying to not do is continue to speculate and point fingers, [versus] trying to find a way to have bipartisan support and some good sponsors for a bill.”
Image of cannabis farm from Oregon Department of Agriculture used via Flickr/Creative Commons 2.0
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