I heard Assembly Representative Melissa Sargent speak at the 43rd Annual Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival this past October and there has been rumors that more and more politicians, Wisconsin politicians, are talking about hemp cannabis and even the topic of full legalization is now on the tongues of some. Are we seeing a new leadership emerge or just some additional talking about points being thrown out to collect a few more votes during the election cycle. Only time will tell if, this Democrat can advance cause, but I highly suspect it will take more then reaching out to her own party make this happen. Just as I highly suspect there are a few more Republicans that support full legalization that are either not identified yet or under leadership control and orders not to support this type of legislation.
Here is the news report from the Capitol Times that caught my attention and sparked the comment above:
Mike Crute and Dominic Salvia, co-hosts of The Devil’s Advocates radio show (92.1 FM-The Mic), regularly invite politicians to their studio to discuss a wide range of policy issues.
But there is one question that every guest is expected to answer, no matter the news of the day: Do you support legalizing the recreational use of marijuana?
On Thursday, for the first time ever, a politician unconditionally answered in the affirmative.
Rep. Melissa Sargent (D-Madison)
“I would, yes,” said state Rep. Melissa Sargent, D-Madison.
“Hallelujah,” responded Crute. “We finally got a straight answer out of someone!”
Other politicians appearing on the show in the past have voiced support for relaxing some marijuana laws. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, for instance, noted her approval for medical marijuana and the decriminalization of pot possession.
But Sargent is the first to support to support full legalization.
The freshman legislator from Madison’s north side explained that while she supported legislation to authorize medical cannabis, she believed that the resulting system might be one rife with loopholes, as people seeking to get a hold of high-quality reefer may fabricate medical woes to get a pot prescription.
“People are going out and getting medical marijuana cards because ‘Oh I have this one pain that you can’t prove’ because they want to be using marijuana recreationaly as opposed to medically,” she said. “And who’s to define what’s recreation and what’s medical?”
That certainly has been a difficult question to answer in California, where anybody willing to say they suffer from anxiety or insomnia can get a prescription from a doctor to buy marijuana from one of the state’s many dispensaries.
Other states with medical marijuana, however, have imposed much stricter regulations on prescriptions. Proponents of similar legislation in Wisconsin have said that the bill offers very specific rules to prevent a California-style situation from taking hold.
In the end, Sargent framed cannabis legalization as consistent with legal drinking:
“People can drink alcohol in our community and I think this is very similar to that. We have to bring ourselves back and really have these conversations about where is government’s responsibility in our lives?”
A recent poll shows that roughly half of Wisconsin voters support legalization, although it still appears to be a political non-starter. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke has said she supports examining the medical benefits of cannabis but dismissed recreational legalization as out-of-line with mainstream opinion in an interview last month.
Sargent told the Cap Times that she has not discussed the issue much with other legislators, but that she knows some members of her party would favor legislation legalizing the drug.
Jay Selthofner is the Founder of The Wisconsin Cannabis Activist Network and Northern Wisconsin NORML. Jay ran for Wisconsin State Assembly 2010 as an Independent Candidate on a platform of legalizing cannabis.
He owns Selthofner Consulting which provides a wide array of services. His family owns Heritage Hemp Farm, which specializes in a compassion club style setting for their patrons and holds the annual "From the Land Festival" in Green Lake, WI, the third weekend in October.
Jay is also a contributor to The Stoner's Travel Guide and with the help of cannabis activists Gene and Jessica, they are about about to publish the book The Stoner's Travel Guide to Wisconsin which will include a business directory. If interested in advertising opportunities, please do not hesitate to contact Jay for a media kit.
Jay is a motivated citizen activist in Wisconsin. Through networking, communication and hard work he believes the reform of cannabis laws will progress despite relentless opposition.
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