Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, proposed full marijuana legalization for the state in his 2021-23 biennial price range.
The proposal comes practically two years after Republican legislators shot down Evers’ earlier plan to legalize medical marijuana solely.
Republicans management each chambers of the Legislature.
The proposed legalization measure would “improve income, create jobs, and scale back legal justice system prices, whereas offering a pathway for these affected by continual or debilitating ache and sickness to make the most of the medication they require,” in accordance with a information launch issued by Evers’ workplace Sunday.
The discharge cited a 2019 Marquette College Legislation ballot that discovered 59% assist for leisure marijuana legalization in Wisconsin and 83% assist for legalization of medical hashish.
“Frankly, pink and blue states throughout the nation have moved ahead with legalization and there’s no cause Wisconsin must be left behind once we understand it’s supported by a majority of Wisconsinites,” Evers mentioned within the launch.
The proposal would see marijuana “taxed and controlled very similar to alcohol,” underneath the purview of Wisconsin’s Division of Income and the Division of Agriculture, Commerce, and Shopper Safety.
Leisure hashish shops can be licensed by the income division, with gross sales restricted to these 21 and older.
“The plan additionally gives a path for medical marijuana customers to entry the product with out paying retail taxes,” the discharge famous.
Wisconsin residents can be restricted to possessing as much as 2 ounces of hashish and can be allowed to develop as much as six vegetation for private use. Nonresidents can be restricted to possessing not more than 0.25 ounces of hashish, or roughly 7 grams.
Marijuana processors, or microbusinesses working as processors, would have the ability to course of solely hashish grown in Wisconsin.
Full hashish legalization in Wisconsin would generate upward of $165 million in annual income for the state as of the second fiscal 12 months of the two-year price range, in accordance with the governor’s workplace.