POLITICS

Gov. Tony Evers calls for decriminalization of recreational marijuana use

Molly Beck

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Gov. Tony Evers delivers his State of the State address at the Capitol in Madison in January. Evers has proposed in his next two-year spending plan to legalize marijuana use for medical use and decriminalize possession and distribution of small amounts.

MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers wants to allow Wisconsin residents to carry or sell small amounts of marijuana and legalize its use for medical reasons, aides said Sunday.

Evers will propose in his first state budget proposal to decriminalize marijuana if its users, manufacturers and distributors handle 25 grams or fewer and create Wisconsin's first medical marijuana program that would be regulated by the state's health and agriculture departments.

The plan, to be unveiled Monday in the state Capitol, also would expunge convictions of possessing, manufacturing or selling 25 or fewer grams of marijuana from criminal records of those found guilty of such crimes in the past.

For perspective, 25 grams of marijuana could fit inside a standard Ziplock sandwich bag.

Spokeswomen for Evers did not respond to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel request for full details of the plan.

Wisconsin is one of 17 states that has not legalized marijuana in some form. In the case of medical marijuana, growers use unprocessed marijuana plants or extracts to treat symptoms of illness or other medical conditions.

Evers' plans might have trouble getting through the Republican-controlled Legislature, particularly in the state Senate, where leaders there have opposed legalizing marijuana use.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau in January said lawmakers would likely take any marijuana-related provision out of the budget because they want to limit the amount of policy in the state's next two-year spending plan.

"I still don’t believe the support’s there within the Senate caucus to move in that direction, but I know that the debate's going on nationwide," Fitzgerald told reporters then.

Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, who leads the Legislature's powerful budget-writing committee, said in January she didn't think "there is strong support in the Legislature yet."

But Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, in 2017 said he's open to the idea, and Attorney General Josh Kaul — a Democrat — also supports legalizing marijuana use.

Aides to Fitzgerald and Vos did not respond to questions late Sunday about whether either Republican legislative leader would support Evers' plans.

Under Evers' proposal, medical marijuana would be available to treat a "debilitating medical condition" diagnosed by doctors, including AIDS, Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Eligible users could consume the drug through any method, including smoking.

The plan would cost about $1.6 million over the next two years and result in about $2.3 million in new tax revenue from sales of marijuana for medical use, Evers administration officials estimate.

Evers has said previously he would seek a tax structure that allows small marijuana growers to make money, rather than provide a pathway for large pharmaceutical companies to dominate the industry that could emerge from legalizing the drug.

"I think the last thing the people of Wisconsin want as it relates to marijuana is that it eventually devolves into Pfizer running (the market),” he said in January. “I want it to be set up in a way that people in the state of Wisconsin feel comfortable that they can make some money by doing this work without having to essentially go broke."

Under Evers' plan, all marijuana sold for medical uses must be grown in Wisconsin. Growers could cultivate up to 12 plants.

Democrats have long pushed for medical marijuana to be legal in Wisconsin and voters supported legalization in referendums held in 16 counties during the November general election.

A Marquette University Law School poll of Wisconsin voters in August found that 61 percent of respondents said marijuana should be fully legalized and regulated like alcohol while 36 percent opposed legalization.

While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved the cannabis plant as medicine, the agency has approved a CBD-based liquid medication for the treatment of two forms of severe childhood epilepsy.

CBD, or cannabidiol, is low in THC, the ingredient in marijuana that makes people high.

Wisconsin and 14 other states allow the use of only low-THC cannabidiol products by prescription. Evers' proposal would make CBD available to all regardless of doctor permission.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.