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Medical marijuana legislation gets public hearing at Capitol

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Sen. Mary Felzkowski

At the Capitol on Wednesday, a first-ever public hearing on a medical marijuana bill for Wisconsin. The measure from Senator Mary Felzkowski (R-Irma) would allow patients to access cannabis for a limited number of conditions in a limited number of forms, and does not include smokable.

“I know that smoking was big issue, and there’s a lot of people that would like smoking,” Felzkowski said. “The largest concern around smoking that our colleagues had, and we heard it from the outside groups, is that if there are children in the household or children near they could also be affected from that.”

Representative Pat Snyder (R-Schofield), the bill’s Assembly author, defended the limited approach. “Because if you you try to do all at once then it would get shot down and we wouldn’t be able to get this through. So let’s work and take up those other kind of concerns later.”

Wisconsin is one of just 11 states that have not legalized some version of medical cannabis. The bill is similar to one which Felzkowski first introduced in 2019. It calls for a program to be overseen by a Medical Marijuana Regulatory Commission within the state Department of Revenue, with members chosen by the governor and legislative leaders.

Doctors, physician assistants and advanced practice nurse prescribers would be able to prescribe liquid or pill form medical cannabis to patients, for a limited number of medical conditions.

Felzkowski said she wished a medical marijuana option had been available while she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer in 2014, and said it’s time for Wisconsin to join the majority of states which allow it. “Thirty-seven other states don’t have it wrong. I think it’s time for Wisconsin to move in that same direction.”

While Wednesday’s hearing did not address the broader issue of legalizing marijuana for recreational use, advocates for that plan to continue bringing up legislation. State Senator Melissa Agard (D-Madison) has made repeated attempts to advance legalization, and she takes issue with the limited scope of the Republican measure.

“The bill . . . is a restrictive medicinal bill that does not provide access to the plant based products. It only provides access to tinctures and oils and pills, not the plant itself.”

Agard has proposed allowing people to grow their own marijuana for use, would have prevented outside businesses from selling cannabis in Wisconsin, and would have allowed for judicial remediation for those with cannabis convictions on their records. Her bills have never gotten a committee hearing.

While Wednesday’s hearing will not result in any action because the legislature has adjourned for the year, both Felzkowski and Schneider pledged to reintroduce it next session.

 

Advocate and Democrats critical of latest Republican medical marijuana bill

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A long-time advocate says the latest medical marijuana bill being offered by Republican legislators falls far short of what people need to access the drug. Gary Storck of Madison heads the group Is My Medicine Legal Yet?

“Some ability to grow your own medicine is pretty critical, because that way you’re not facing the steep potential cost of going to dispensaries,” Storck says.

The new legislation would keep medical marijuana tightly regulated, and only allow doctors to recommend various non-smokable forms of the drug to their patients. It’s offered by Senator Mary Felzkowski (R-Irma) and Representative Pat Snyder (R-Schofield).

“Certainly the forms that they want to put it in are useful, and some patients don’t like to smoke. But I think the vast majority of patients do find the best benefits by smoking or inhaling vapors, and most states do allow that,” Storck says.

Storck believes individuals should be able to grow marijuana in limited amounts for their own treatment. Wisconsin is one of just 14 states that have yet to legalize medical marijuana in some form.

Both Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Governor Tony Evers have indicated support for medical marijuana. But some Democrats are critical of this latest proposal.

“Wisconsin will best move forward through fully legalized cannabis for adult, responsible usage. That is where I am putting my time and energy,” said Senator Melissa Agard (D-Madison).

“Setting up a political commission to be in charge of whether people get access to medication, and dictating the way in which they can consume it, isn’t what the Wisconsinites advocating for this bill have asked for,” said Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-West Point).

 

 

Republicans propose medical marijuana bill

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Republican legislators are hoping to restart talks on legalizing medical marijuana in Wisconsin. State Representative Pat Snyder (R-Schofield) says that the state would retain strict control over the industry through a new rules commission housed with the Department of Revenue.

“They will be making most of the decisions that are impacting stakeholders,” Snyder said.

State Senator Mary Felzkowski (R-Irma) is a cancer survivor and says that medical marijuana could have helped her through her treatments for cancer. She wants people to have natural options in their health care in the future.

Felzkowski says this is not just a liberal or conservative issue. “You’ll see conservative states like Florida and South Dakota, and more liberal states like California, New York offering a compassionate option for those that need relief,” she said.

The bill would allow individuals to use medical marijuana for a limited number of conditions, with referral from a physician.

A medical marijuana bill offered by Felzkowski in the previous legislative session had no support from Republican leadership and failed to advance.

One of Felzkowski’s Democratic colleagues is critical of this latest bill. “Setting up a political commission to be in charge of whether people get access to medication, and dictating the way in which they can consume it, isn’t what the Wisconsinites advocating for this bill have asked for,” said Senator Jon Erpenbach (D- West Point) in a statement.

 

Up in smoke: Fitzgerald a quick no on GOP medical marijuana bill

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The latest medical marijuana proposal at the Capitol is rejected by the leader of the state Senate. Representative Mary Felzkowski (R-Irma) said the bill she’s proposing with Senator Kathy Bernier (R-Chippewa Falls) calls for dispensaries to be tightly regulated by the state.

“I think it’s how it’s regulated, who’s doing the regulating,” Felzkowski said. “I think there’s a real concern that we don’t want pot shops on every corner.”

But Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald was quick to shoot the bill down on Wednesday, saying he’s personally opposed and that Senate Republicans also don’t support medical marijuana.

“I’ve had a conversation with a few, and I think some people could be supportive of it,” Felzkowski said.

Felzkowski hopes the bill at least gets a committee hearing in one or both chambers.  “I knew that there’s no way that it passes this session, but we really would like a committee hearing in one or both chambers, just to get public input on it, let’s get some experts testifying on it, and let’s get this conversation started to see what maybe we can do next session.”

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Governor Tony Evers have both supported allowing medical marijuana..

Bipartisan medical marijuana bill faces stiff opposition in state legislature

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to enact medical marijuana legislation, despite opposition from legislative leaders.

Democrat Senator John Erpenbach and Representative Chris Taylor, and Republican Senator Pat Testin are seeking to create a pathway for doctors to be able to prescribe marijuana to patients. 

Testin says it’s a personal issue for him, after his grandfather used cannabis to treat his cancer symptoms. “I saw him make the decision to go outside the law to seek treatment with medical marijuana. It restored his appetite, and I believe it added months to his life. I am grateful for all the time that I had with him.” 

“Each time we introduce this bill, more and more people around Wisconsin find that someone they know has turned to cannabis as a life-altering medical treatment,” said Senator Erpenbach. “The public support is there, we have a Governor who supports it, the time for medical cannabis is now.”

The bill will face stiff competition in the Senate, however. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has been a staunch opponent to any form of marijuana legalization. “Everyone knows that medical marijuana leads to legalized marijuana,” he said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

“I don’t support this plan and I think that it’s going to be a tough sell to a majority of my caucus.”

 

Vos open to discussions on allowing medical marijuana for Wisconsin

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Speaker Robin Vos

Republican budget writers removed a provision in Governor Tony Evers’ budget to legalize medical marijuana, but the idea is budding anew at the Capitol, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos wants to look at legalizing medical marijuana in Wisconsin.

Evers’ budget also would have decriminalized recreational pot in some amounts. “I do not support recreational marijuana” Vos said Thursday at the Capitol. But the Speaker said this fall lawmakers could look at allowing medical marijuana in Wisconsin

“The goal would be to try to show people that there’s a path, to be able to talk about this, to discuss it,” Vos said. “To figure out maybe a Wisconsin way that isn’t like Illinois or Michigan or Minnesota.” Minnesota allows marijuana for medical use, Michigan allows it for recreational use, and Illinois Governor J.B. Priitzker this week signed a bill doing the same there.

“I’d much rather figure out a way to get to yes than just instantly say “well because it could lead to recreational marijuana I’m an automatic no,” Vos said.

State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has thus far been skeptical about medical marijuana.
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Democrats on medical marijuana tour

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Dane County Democrats in the legislature are on tour to promote medical marijuana in Wisconsin. State Representative Chris Taylor said legislation she introduced with Senator Jon Erpenbach would allow patients access to medical cannabis with a doctor’s recommendation. There have been no hearings on the bills, which were introduced back in February.

“Rather than spin our wheels in the Capitol, what Senator Erpenbach and I decided to do was go out and talk to people all over the state, and raise the awareness,” Taylor said.

The lawmakers were in La Crosse on Tuesday, and will be in Wausau and Green Bay on Wednesday, and Milwaukee on Thursday.

Use of cannabis for medical purposes is legal in 29 states, and Taylor said Wisconsin residents who could benefit from the drug have no good option — even if they’re able to obtain it out-of-state. “Even if they are able to get it legally in other states, they’re going to be criminals when the come back to this state to use the medical marijuana that they’ve got.”

Wisconsin Democrats propose medical marijuana measures

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WRN photo

Steve Acheson is an Iraq War veteran who calls his first use of medical marijuana “an epiphany” for treating his pain and PTSD. “Almost the instant that the drug entered my body, I could just feel everything relaxing, and the pain going away and the anxiety going away,” said the UW Platteville graduate. Acheson said he used marijuana to wean himself off of myriad painkillers and other medications that were prescribed for his PTSD diagnosis and multiple back surgeries from an injury sustained while he was deployed to Iraq.

Dr. David Olive is a Madison surgeon and a lung cancer patient who says he’s found relief from pain with medical marijuana. “There’s certainly good data that shows that it works, that it’s safe and that we ought to be using it in specific diseases for medicinal purposes,” Olive said.

Both men spoke at a press conference at the Wisconsin Capitol on Monday, as two Democratic legislators outlined their proposals to allow Wisconsin residents like Olive and Acheson to obtain cannabis legally for medical purposes.

State Representative Chris Taylor (D-Madison) has authored the Compassionate Cannabis Care Act. Taylor said her bill is not about recreational marijuana, but making it legal medically as in 28 other states and the District of Columbia. “Most of the states on this list have not fully legalized marijuana,” she said. “What we want to do here is stop suffering of patients, and make sur patients are not criminals.”

Taylor predicted many Republicans will have a hard time opposing medical marijuana, because so many Wisconsinites have friends or family members suffering from medical conditions that could benefit from it.

If Taylor’s legislation represents a step too far for legislators, State Senator Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) has written a resolution that could go to a statewide vote as an advisory referendum. He said that would allow voters to weigh and provide lawmakers with insight into public attitudes.

A July 2016 question by the Marquette Law School Poll found 59 percent of respondents in favor of legalizing marijuana for medical use.

At Friday’s press conference, Erpenbach said Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has indicated in the past that if medical marijuana were to become legal in the state, voters would have to weigh in on the issue. “Here’s a chance for Governor Walker to put his money where his mouth is,” Erpenbach said. “If he can’t support passage of the referendum at the very least we hope the governor can support placement of the referendum on a ballot.”

But Walker, who met in Green Bay on Monday with state sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, didn’t sound too supportive. “Sheriffs across the state have said that they’re very concerned about a gateway,” Walker said. “They’re very concerned that would open the door towards a gateway at a time when we already have a crisis with opioid and other abuse in this state.”

Wisconsin Democrats propose medical marijuana referendum

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Medical marijuana (File photo)

State Senate Democrats are proposing action on medical marijuana in Wisconsin, through a bill to allow use of medical marijuana and by calling for a non-binding statewide referendum.

State Sen. Jon Erpenbach of Middleton, one of the lawmakers behind the proposals, said he’s hopeful that at least the referendum would stand a chance of being considered in the Republican-controlled legislature. Erpenbach and Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison) have proposed Senate and Assembly versions of the legislation.

Erpenbach said a vote in favor of the referendum wouldn’t necessarily signal that a lawmaker supports medical marijuana. “The referendum just gives people around the state a chance to weigh in on the issue.”

Previous efforts to legalize medical marijuana have failed to advance in Madison. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have some form of legal medical marijuana.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct that Rep. Chris Taylor, not Sen. Lena Taylor, is the other sponsor of the bill and amendment.

Drug bust in Stevens Point uncovers medical marijuana

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Officials in Portage County say two people are facing charges, after a search of a Stevens Point residence uncovered more than 17 pounds of marijuana.

Police believe the pair brought the drugs into Wisconsin after buying them in a state where medical marijuana is legal. The drugs have an estimated street value of $100,000. Police also seized about $6,500 in cash.

Officers on Tuesday executed a search warrant at a house across from a Stevens Point high school. The suspects are 20 and 22-years-old. Their names and genders have not been disclosed and formal charges are pending.

WSAU