Wisconsin is one of just 12 states that have not yet legalized medical marijuana: Tribal leaders in the state are calling for a change.
On Tuesday, tribal leaders urged Wisconsin lawmakers to move forward with the legalization of medical marijuana, advocating for patients suffering from chronic pain and PTSD to have access to cannabis as a treatment alternative.
Rob Pero, founder of Canndigenous, a Native American hemp business based in Cambridge, expressed frustration over the current legal status. “We’re caught in a kind of ‘Prohibition Island’ here, surrounded by states where it’s legal,” he said. “Our people are being forced to choose between breaking the law to obtain their medicine and staying without it in Wisconsin.”
Pero, alongside others, has launched an initiative called Wisconsin Wellness to promote awareness of cannabis’s medicinal benefits.
Efforts by Wisconsin Democrats to legalize recreational marijuana have consistently been blocked by Republicans in control of the state Legislature.
In 2022, Republicans in the Assembly proposed a tightly controlled bill to establish state-operated medical marijuana dispensaries. However, the proposal stalled after Senate Republicans opposed the idea of a state-run dispensary system.
Kristin White Eagle, a representative for the Ho-Chunk Nation, emphasized the need for change, saying, “It’s time to end prohibition and give people the choice to access medical cannabis for their well-being.”
As of Tuesday, neither Assembly Speaker Robin Vos nor Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, the Republican leaders of the Legislature, had responded to inquiries about the possibility of passing medical marijuana legislation when lawmakers reconvene next year.
