Wisconsin Republicans have again blocked the state from legalizing medical marijuana as part of the governor’s budget proposal. On Wednesday, the GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee voted against a motion to re-add the cannabis reform in the 2021-2023 budget plan, the Associated Press first reported. This action comes one month after the same panel first voted to scrap Gov. Tony Evers’s (D) marijuana proposal—including both recreational and medical legalization—from the budget. The cannabis measures were among nearly 400 provisions that were proposed to be eliminated by the panel. Rep. Evan Goyke (D) argued that the “sky has not fallen” in other states that have enacted medical cannabis. He admonished Republican lawmakers to “stop running from this debate,” according to the Associated Press. The new motion called for the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to receive $185,000 annually to regulate a medical marijuana market.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 06/02/2021 16:18:00