MADISON: A Republican Assembly representative and Public Health Committee member who was ready to vote for AB 554/SB 368, the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act if it came to a vote has announced he will not be seeking reelection this fall.
Rep. Scott Newcomer, (R-Hartland) issued a statement saying he would not seek reelection in November. Newcomer served in the Assembly since 2006. He faced a primary election fight against five fellow Republicans in September.
The Chicago Tribune reported that Newcomer’s announcement makes him the 22nd Wisconsin lawmaker legislator to give up their seat, translating to 19 open seats in the Assembly and three open seats in the Senate. That means that nearly 17% of seats will be represented by new faces and counting. Democrats currently hold a 52-46 majority in the Assembly and an 18-15 edge in the Senate.
Veterans and others managing post traumatic stress report that medical marijuana can help in ways conventional medications cannot, without the toxicity, side effects and interactions.
Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, and Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, showed true support for vets and other PTSD sufferers by including it among qualifying debilitating medical conditions in the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act. Unfortunately, the bill died in committee like so many others before it.
In 2007, New Mexico also faced the end of session without passing a medical marijuana bill long in the works. Gov. Bill Richardson persuaded wavering lawmakers to come back and pass it, making New Mexico the first state to pass a bill specifically including PTSD, and the 12th state to OK medical marijuana.
MADISON: This morning on Joy Cardin’s show on Wisconsin Public Radio, Milwaukee mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett told a caller that he would sign a medical cannabis bill if it was worded “very, very, very narrow.”
Barrett, when reminded, could not recall a 1998 congressional vote against medical cannabis.
Meanwhile, a reliable cosponsor of medical marijuana legislation in the Wisconsin Legislature for many years, Rep. Spencer Black (D-Madison), became the latest lawmaker to announce he was not seeking reelection. The full current tally shows more opponents are leaving.
MADISON: Saturday’s Global Cannabis March – Madison found great support as it snaked through downtown Madison from the N. Hamilton entrance of the State Capitol all the way to the Mifflin St. Block Party. March organizer Ben Masel, from the Madison chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), estimated that by the time the GCM – Madison reached the Mifflin Block Party that at least 250 were marching. The march grew quickly, attracting supporters from the Capitol Square Farmer’s Market as it departed the Square. Heading down State St. marchers received cheers, applause and other displays of support from people at sidewalk cafes or passing by.
