Wisconsin GOP Lawmakers Not as Close on Medical Marijuana as Previously Thought

Thursday, February 2nd, 2023 -- 1:00 PM

(By Anya van Wagtendonk, Wisconsin Public Radio) Wisconsin GOP lawmakers may be further away from taking up medical marijuana legislation this session than previously thought, based on comments from one of the Legislature's top Republicans.

According to Anya van Wagtendonk with Wisconsin Public Radio, in an interview that aired Sunday, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, told WISN-TV  "we’re not that close" on legalizing medical marijuana.

He suggested that some Assembly Republicans feel it would be a gateway to recreational marijuana. "Every time Gov. (Tony) Evers brings up the idea of recreational marijuana, that scares away a whole bunch of people who say, ‘We do not need to become like Illinois or Michigan,’" Vos said.

Both states have legal weed available both medicinally and recreationally, while Wisconsin’s neighbor to the west, Minnesota, offers forms of legal medical marijuana, and is likely to legalize recreational marijuana this spring.

Vos has previously told Wisconsin Public Radio he supports limited access to medical marijuana, a position he reiterated to WISN-TV.

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