Wisconsin Republican Lawmakers Continue To Fail Voters With ‘Smoke And Mirrors’ Medical Marijuana Promises (Op-Ed)

“Cannabis legalization is a serious, substantive issue and we should treat it as such, not as a political game.”

By Wisconsin Sen. Melissa Agard (D)

Today, Wisconsin’s Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos announced that the sham medical marijuana bill he claimed would pass is dead. We saw this coming.

This bill was always smoke and mirrors. It would not accomplish what a majority of Wisconsinites are asking of state legislators: full legalization of cannabis for adult responsible usage.

Republicans are continuing their track record of ignoring the will of the people who want to see cannabis legalized. Speaker Vos’s comments today show that he and his fellow legislative Republicans are unserious about addressing this issue. How many sessions do we need to witness the same hoax from Republicans indicating their interest in medical marijuana only to pull the rug out from those who desperately want this policy to be signed into law?

We now know that this bill won’t even receive a public hearing until possibly after the legislative session has adjourned, rendering the legislation dead. No one asked for the most restrictive bill here in our great state, but they have been asking for comprehensive, adult usage cannabis legalization as an economic driver, a public safety matter and an increase in regulations for a product that is readily available in our neighboring states.

My Democratic colleagues and I have been working to highlight legalization outside of the normal processes by traveling across Wisconsin to meet folks where they are because the GOP won’t even give the public a chance to speak about the need for full legalization.

Cannabis legalization is a serious, substantive issue and we should treat it as such, not as a political game. I will continue advocating tirelessly for full legalization of cannabis for adult, responsible usage which will help increase public safety, lift up personal freedoms and provide economic opportunity for Wisconsinites all across the state.

Melissa Agard is a Democratic senator in Wisconsin and lead Senate sponsor of a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis.

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