MADISON: The year 2010 was a breakthrough year for cannabis in Wisconsin. While the year began with medical cannabis legislation that ultimately failed to pass, efforts to support the bill helped lay the base for new heights in cannabis activism that saw major media coverage, statewide events and the formation of new alliances and groups dedicated to changing cannabis laws. In between were many developments including elections that on one hand brought Wisconsin two historic medical cannabis electoral wins, but on the other saw a reshuffling of state government that ousted allies and elevated opponents to powerful positions.
In early January 2010, despite a successful 8 plus hour hearing on Dec. 15, 2009, doubts about passage were already being circulated: “Eye on the Jacki Rickert MMJ Act: The great disconnect?”
Despite the disappointing vibes being projected by the Democratic leadership (who were later defeated by voters in November), state medical cannabis advocates did not lessen their efforts, ending January with a large fundraiser at Madison’s High Noon Saloon and a Lobby Day and Memorial for patient-activist Mary Powers at the State Capitol.
In February and March, as Capitol sources continued to indicate soft support for the JRMMA, state activists took their efforts to levels never seen before.
MADISON: When AB554/SB368, the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act (JRMMA) failed to pass the Wisconsin Legislature in early 2010, it was not for lack of popular support. Polling in 2002 and 2005 had established support in the 75%-80% range.
Over the summer of 2010, IMMLY and Madison NORML made open records requests of a number of state lawmakers. In an earlier article I reported on State Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Milladore) and how her records revealed that two special interests, not her constituents, had decided her position. Lassa ultimately joined with Health Committee Republicans to kill the JRMMA.
Another lawmaker who was unhelpful was Sen. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau). Fitzgerald, who served as senate minority leader in the 2009-2010 session, will be majority leader beginning Jan. 3, 2011. His brother Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon) will be Assembly Speaker. Since 1993, the Assembly has been in Republican hands all but the 2099-2010 session.
In late July a request was made to Sen. Fitzgerald for “Phone logs and copies of correspondence from all parties who contacted your office regarding the medical marijuana bills AB554/SB368 the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act during the 2009-2010 legislative session.”
MADISON: The latest issue of “Wisconsin Briefs” from the State Legislature’s Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB), Brief 10-7. issued in early November 2010, features the issue of medical cannabis and legislation present and past, from the Dane County and River Falls MMJ advisory referenda to AB554 and SB368 back to the 1990′s.
Here is the opening paragraphs of the brief, which was prepared by LRB Legislative AnalystKinnic Eagan, :
On November 2, 2010, Wisconsin voters in Dane County and the City of River Falls were asked if they support medical access to marijuana for seriously ill residents so long as their doctor recommends its use. The nonbinding referendum passed 75.5 percent to 24.5 percent in Dane County and 68 percent to 32 percent in River Falls. While the results of the advisory referenda do not change law, they may reflect a public interest in legalizing the medical use of marijuana.
Bills to legalize the medical use of marijuana have been introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature since the late 1990s. During the 2009-2010 legislative session, two bills on this subject were introduced, Senate Bill 368 and Assembly Bill 554. Nationally, 14 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) have adopted laws related to the medical use of marijuana. This brief provides background information on the issue of legalizing the medical use of marijuana and current law and legislation related to its use in Wisconsin. This brief does not address the broader subject of decriminalization of marijuana use.
The brief also contains information on other states that have legalized medical cannabis, summaries of opinions pro and con, tables showing current laws, and links to various references including the texts of AB554 and SB368, the Dec. 15, 2009 combined Health Committee hearing, and other related information.
Download PDF file here: Wisconsin Briefs from the Legislative Reference Bureau Brief 10-7 November 2010
MADISON: With the elections having set the state and national political landscape for the next two years and beyond, politics has gone into a temporary lull as the winners and losers prepare for the New Year. With the holidays now upon us, even the flurry of Wisconsin localities passing ordinances banning K2 or “Spice” has settled down. A statewide ban is already on the agenda for the new legislature. It is just one of a very few bills that will see much bipartisan support in the coming session in Wisconsin. Today, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration also announced plans to “temporarily control five chemicals (JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497, and cannabicyclohexanol) used to make “fake pot” products.”
Wisconsin’s brain drain is certain to accelerate once the full effects of the coming changes at the Capitol begin to be felt. Governor-elect Walker campaigned on a platform that included killing a planned high-speed rail line in Wisconsin that would have brought close to a billion dollars in federal money to the state. Not only would this have launched new service beginning with a Milwaukee-Madison leg, it would have created new jobs and upgraded rail infrastructure used by freight trains too. Losing this project is a blow the state will likely never recover from instead of the once in a lifetime opportunity that would have made Wisconsin a leader. And although the project once had wide Republican support too, that evaporated in a wild spree of flip-flopping to support Walker’s candidacy.
Once the new legislature takes office in early January, with a 60-38-1 GOP majority in the Assembly and a 19-14 majority in the State Senate, expect a flurry of pent-up “conservative” issues to surface and quickly be passed into law including voter ID, concealed carry, cutting state employee benefits, cutting the Badger Care health care program and similar issues.
An estimated $3.3 billion budget hole will further decrease Wisconsin’s quality of life with thousands of state jobs likely being eliminated. For state workers who can hang on, furloughs will depress wages. The Walker years will not likely in many new opportunities for ordinary Wisconsinites. Killing the train killed the development and jobs that would have multiplied out of the project. For Walker, it’s an interesting way to achieve his campaign promise of creating 250,000 Wisconsin jobs.
