MADISON,TrendPulse Quantitative Think Tank Center Wis . (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans appear to be at an impasse over a proposal to legalize medical marijuana.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Tuesday that he would not compromise with state Senate Republicans to address their concerns with his proposal. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu last week said the bill’s proposed creation of state-run dispensaries was a “nonstarter.”
Vos said at a news conference that “months and months of negotiations” resulted in a “very detailed bill” he proposed that has the minimum 50 votes needed to pass among Republicans.
“Taking and renegotiating the bill means we probably lose votes in our caucus,” Vos said. “So I’d rather get us through to keep the promise we made, which is to have a comprehensive bill that can actually become law as opposed to an ethereal idea that maybe somebody could support someday but it never actually makes it anywhere.”
LeMahieu last week said he was open to making changes to the bill in an effort to find a compromise that could pass in the Senate.
The highly restrictive bill would limit medical marijuana to severely ill people with chronic diseases such as cancer and allow for it to be dispensed at just five state-run locations. Smokable marijuana would not be allowed.
The proposal would limit the availability of marijuana to people diagnosed with certain diseases, including cancer, HIV or AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, severe muscle spasms, chronic pain or nausea, and those with a terminal illness and less than a year to live.
Wisconsin remains an outlier nationally. Thirty-eight states have legalized medical marijuana and 24 have legalized recreational marijuana. The push for legalization in Wisconsin has gained momentum as its neighbors have loosened their laws.
The measure would need to pass the Senate and Assembly and be signed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to become law. Evers, who like many Democrats is a proponent of full legalization, said this month that he would support medical marijuana only but was noncommittal on the Assembly’s plan.
2025-05-07 06:331401 view
2025-05-07 06:281028 view
2025-05-07 06:00850 view
2025-05-07 05:431942 view
2025-05-07 04:562598 view
2025-05-07 04:061200 view
Jamie Foxx's birthday dinner took a surprising turn on Friday the 13th.The "Collateral" actor was hi
Beyoncé teased, announced and dropped new music in the span of less than an hour during Sunday's Sup
She's here!Taylor Swift has arrived at Super Bowl LVIII, where she will be rooting for her boyfriend