Recently Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley (D) made some main stream marijuana news. How? By stating what to me seemed obvious….there are some Democrats who are not in favor of total legalization of cannabis, and she is one of them. Well those were not her exact words. Not only is she one of them, but at the time of the original airing of the story on June 7th, 2021, the twelve (12) Democrat Senators were noted as split 50/50 on the issue of recreational marijuana and that is probably what lead her to say “Full legalization is a nonstarter. The Democratic caucus is not in favor of that.“

I first reported this back in November 2020 after the election results were known, past sponsorship/co-sponsorship documented, public comments analyzed and research complete on each of the sitting Senators. The Nov 2020 article entitled Wisconsin 2021-22 State Assembly and Senate Marijuana Support Graphs has been pinned to the front page of “The Jay Blog” and used widely by NORML and the Wisconsin Cannabis Activist Network

Here is a copy of the “Senate Support Graph” as of the time of publication. As you can see, it was noted that only 6 of the 12 had been on record of supporting adult use legislation. I will go a little more in depth analysis below:

Wisconsin-State-Senate-Marijuana-Reform-Support — Wisconsin State Senate Support Graph

Of the 12 Democrat Senators; here is what is known about them and their stance on Legal Adult Use Cannabis:

5 had previously authored or co-sponsored adult use legislation (Agard, Larson, Taylor, Smith and Johnson).

Senator Agard (D-Madison) was leading the way in the Assembly for legal marijuana in Wisconsin and in 2020 she took over the Senate seat from Senator Miller who retired. We expect high amount of activity to come from this office again this session as she has already indicated she will submit adult use legislation for consideration

Senator Larson (D – Milwaukee ) In 2019 Senator Larson sponsored Adult Use, Grow Your Own/Smoking Medical Marijuana and Decriminalization and that is all we can ask. Larson was re-elected to the Wisconsin State Senate for a third term in November 2018. Larson has indicated he will not be seeking re-election in 2022 and will be seeking to replace US Senator Ron Johnson.

Lena Taylor (D – Milwaukee) A consistent and reliable sponsor of Adult Use, Medical Marijuana and Decriminalization.

Jeff Smith (D- Brunswick) Senator Smith sponsored both Adult Use / Recreational Marijuana and the medical marijuana bill that would allow home grows and smoking products for patients in the 2019-20 session. He did not sponsor the decriminalization measure. Smith is up for re-election in 2022.

1 had previously publicly supported legalization (Roys)

Kelda Roys (D – Madison) : In 2009, her first term in the Assembly, she co-authored Assembly Bill 554/Senate Bill 368, to legalize medical marijuana. She sponsored the same bill in her second term as well. Elected to the Senate in 2020, we hope to see her as a sponsor of adult use legislation.

Kelda Roys says “Adults should be free to use marijuana without fear of prosecution. We need to stop using our criminal justice resources to prosecute and incarcerate people for cannabis use. We can earn revenue, increase Wisconsin’s agricultural economy, and help stop the unequal enforcement that drives racial disparities in our criminal justice system. It’s time to legalize cannabis for recreational and medicinal use, and grow Wisconsin’s economy.”

3 had no history of co-sponsorship or public statements supporting (Erpenbach, Wirch and Carpenter)

Jon Erpenbach (D – Madison): Long time medical marijuana legislative lead in the Democratic Senate. His stance on adult marijuana was unknown at this point as he always stayed the course on medical cannabis only. He has never co-sponsored adult use legislation as a Senator. Erpenbach is up for re-election in 2022.

Robert Wirch (D-Kenosha): He has been elected since 1992. Wirch was the only Democrat to co-sponsor the Republican medical marijuana legislation. Senator Wirch was singled out back in October 2019 as not being a co-sponsor of the bi-partisan medical marijuana effort that allowed smoking products and home grows (SB507). Senator Wirch is up for re-election in 2022.

Telephone:
(608) 267-8979
District Phone:
(262) 694-7379Email:
Sen.Wirch@legis.wisconsin.gov

Tim Carpenter (D – Milwaukee ): We are not aware that he sponsored adult use or decriminalization measures. In the past he was against medical marijuana patients growing their own medicine and it appears he has a change of heart as he did sponsor AB 570 in the 2019-20 session, which was medical marijuana legislation with home grows. Senator Tim Carpenter is up for re-election in 2022.

Telephone:
(608) 266-8535
Email:
Sen.Carpenter@legis.wisconsin.gov

2 undecided (Ringhand and Pfaff)

Janis Ringhand (D – Evansville ) – See below. Senator Janis Ringhand is up for re-election in 2022.

Telephone:
(608) 266-2253
Email:
Sen.Ringhand@legis.wisconsin.gov

Brad Pfaff (D – Onalaska ): Just elected in November 2020, this former State Dept of Agriculture head narrowly won his senate seat. As a candidate Pfaff said “I believe that when it comes to medical purposes, we in Wisconsin need to move forward in terms of medical purposes. I will work with law enforcement as well as community social groups, as well as educators as far as legalizing recreational marijuana.” What action will he take as an elected official is a wait and see for us.

Telephone:
(608) 266-5490
Email:
Sen.Pfaff@legis.wisconsin.gov

1 was not supportive (Bewley)

Janet Bewley (D – Mason ): See below. Senator Janet Bewley is up for re-election in 2022.

Telephone:
(608) 266-3510
(800) 469-6562Email:
Sen.Bewley@legis.wisconsin.gov

As far as Democratic Leadership goes, Bewley is Minority Leader and Ringhand is the Assistant Minority Leader. I wrote an article in November 2020 entitled Wisconsin Democrats Elect Leadership for 2021-22 in which I pointed out the fact the the top two leaders in the Democratic Senate were not full supporters of legalization at all.

I believe to address the comprehensive nature of marijuana laws, we need legislators who sponsored the various bills throughout the 2019-20 session to work around both Republican and Democratic Leadership and start working together towards sensible cannabis reform.

With public support for reforming marijuana laws at an all time high, I have been requesting and recommending that key Senate and Assembly allies to form the first-ever Wisconsin Cannabis Caucus to develop and promote sensible cannabis policy reform and work to reform state cannabis laws.

But back to Bewley and her “blunders”:

I wrote this about Bewley in her political profile for the various cannabis orgs I work with:

Senator Janet Bewley, Democratic Minority Leader

In 2018 the City of Superior decriminalized small amounts of marijuana and the City of Ashland approved measures about declaring a resolution to support both medical and recreational cannabis. The Democrat Senate Minority Leader did not sponsor any legislation on marijuana reform in 2019-2020.

Dec 2019: “I am not advocating for legalizing marijuana,” Sen. Bewley said. “I would be willing to have a conversation about medical marijuana, and we know that there is bipartisan support for that.”

Ashland City Council, 2007–09.
Elected to Assembly 2010–12. Elected to Senate 2014. Leadership positions: Assistant Minority Leader 2017.
Additional appointments, 2017: Wisconsin Council on Forestry; Governor’s Task Force on Opioid Abuse.

Bewley is a Member of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, Council on, Tourism, Council on and Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority

Senator Janis A. Ringhand Minority Caucus Vice-Chair Senate District 15

And I wrote this about Ringhand in her political profile:

Assistant Minority Leader for 2021-22, Senator Ringhand (D-Evansville) had co-sponsored the 2019-20 Grow Your Own/Smoking Medical Marijuana Bipartisan bill, but has remained “undecided” about recreational marijuana and has not co-sponsor any decriminalization measures this session. As Minority Caucus Vice Chair in the Senate, her lack of support for recreational marijuana hurts the already conservative Senate and does not set the best tone for the Democratic Caucus in general.

Elected to Assembly 2010–12. Elected to Senate since 2014. Leadership positions: Minority Caucus Vice Chair 2017; Minority Caucus Secretary 2013.

That is the history of these people up to that point. I was not shocked by the quote Bewley gave, but some people, news and politicians certainly are. We will cover that in the following segment entitled “Erpenbach backs the bud, moving from medical to recreational backer“.

If you want to read all the profiles we have created at the Wisconsin Cannabis Activist Network and our elected officials known stance on marijuana reform, you can view use the links to view the Wisconsin State Senate members and the Wisconsin State Assembly Members.

Here was the article I mentioned above:

WHY’S WISCONSIN LOSING REVENUE TO REMAIN A MARIJUANA POCKET OF PROHIBITION?

The Badger State remains a holdout when it comes to legalizing cannabis, even as its neighbors reap the tax rewards.

Written by Jessica VanEgeren

Last year, just south of the Wisconsin border off exit one, the largest marijuana dispensary in the state of Illinois opened its doors for business. If it moved much closer — the Wisconsin-Illinois border is literally 1,000 feet away — it would be in Wisconsin, a state where marijuana is illegal.

“The dispensary is basically serving two states. You can go there on any given day and half the plates are from Wisconsin,” Mayor Ted Rehl told The News Station.

He runs South Beloit, Ill. — the city of roughly 8,000 people where Sunnyside dispensary is located. The border slices the city from its neighbor to the north, Beloit, Wis., which boasts a population of nearly five times that of South Beloit. Both are predominantly white, working-class communities.

South Beloit’s location 50 miles south of Madison and 50 miles southwest of Milwaukee — our largest city — makes it a prime location to draw customers across the border, as Wisconsin remains a pocket of prohibition in the Upper Midwest. Consequently, revenue is following Wisconsites across the border, and our state remains in the minority of those who have seen marijuana-related arrests decrease in the past decade, with arrests disproportionately impacting Wisconsin’s Black population.

Meanwhile, in the halls of the Capitol in Madison, lawmakers remain consistently inconsistent in their support for any form of legalization or decriminalization efforts. Democrats will introduce legislation one year, but fail to gain support from Republicans. A few years later, Republicans will introduce the same bill and fail to gain Democratic support.

“Both parties are absolutely to blame for prohibition in Wisconsin,” Jay Selthofner, co-director of the Wisconsin Cannabis Activist Network, told The News Station.

When it comes to sales, Sunnyside is generating over $1 million each month, according to Rehl, with sales tax revenues of about $25,000 monthly, or $300,000 a year, pouring into the town’s coffers. That amount has the potential to increase to a “conservative estimate” of $700,000 annually when a deal Rehl’s struck with the company to land the dispensary over other border towns expires in seven years. At that point, the city will receive an even higher percentage of the sales tax revenue.

Statewide, cannabis sales topped alcohol sales — $86 million compared to $72 million — during the first three months of the year, a first since sales began a little more than a year ago. In 2020, marijuana sales surpassed $1 billion in the Land of Lincoln.

“Sunnyside has required very little investment on our part for services. Police and fire have had no involvement,” Rehl said. “It has been a real revenue boost for us. The better they do, the better we do.”

On a recent Sunday, Milwaukee residents Faith Battaglia, 21, and Sarah Kenlay, 23, were among those crossing the border and contributing to the revenue stream. Neither had a reason to visit South Beloit prior to the dispensary moving to town. They now make the two-hour, round-trip drive from Milwaukee to South Beloit every other weekend.

They spend $590 per trip, or more than a grand each month. To purchase what they need, Battagila budgets and spends $180, while Kenley spends $410. A bulk of their money is spent on edible gummies to calm their anxiety and help them sleep.

It’s not cheap, Battaglia said, but she’s willing to pay more to purchase cannabis in a safe, clean environment.

“People are putting themselves at risk to buy it in Wisconsin,” Battaglia said. “It would be better to just legalize it and have a safe place like this for people to go.”

A report released by the American Civil Liberties Union in April of 2020 found more than 20,900 marijuana arrests were made in 2018, the majority for possession. This accounted for 57% of all drug arrests in Wisconsin, with Black men and women 4.2 times more likely than white people to be arrested for possession.

These findings ranked Wisconsin 14th nationally for racial disparities in arrests for marijuana possession. Our state was also one of only 17 where arrests for possession increased from 2010 to 2018, according to the study.

Michigan legalized medical marijuana in 2008. Michigan and Minnesota have since followed suit, legalizing medicinal, recreational or both. Meanwhile, Illinois and Minnesota legalized medical marijuana in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Michigan legalized recreational marijuana in 2018, with Illinois following its lead in 2019. A measure to do the same in Minnesota passed the state House but was recently voted down in the Senate.

In 2009, a year after Michigan legalized medicinal marijuana, Wisconsin held its first and only public hearing on a bill sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Jon Erpenbach and progressive Wisconsin Congressman Mark Pocan (at the time a state representative) to follow their neighboring state’s lead and legalize medical cannabis.

Testimony, largely in favor of the bill, lasted more than 10 hours. It included testimony from Jacki Rickert, for whom the bill was named. Rickert suffered from Ehlers-Danlo syndrome, a painful disease that breaks down the connective tissue of her bones. This causes overly flexible joints that are prone to dislocation and elastic skin that easily bruises. Rickert used marijuana for two decades to treat her pain and attempt to restore her appetite, although never legally in Wisconsin.

The bill died in a committee controlled by Democrats, which Erpenbach chaired. The Medical Society of Wisconsin opposed the bill, a reason cited as to why the legislation failed at the time.

Rickert died in 2017, the day after Christmas.

Erpenbach is still an advocate for medicinal marijuana legalization, but he is no longer in the majority and lacks Republican support to pass legislation.

Talk to other activists, advocates and party leaders from both sides of the political aisle, and a common theme becomes undeniable: For varying reasons, the political will to legalize medical or recreational marijuana is lacking among Wisconsin’s legislative leaders. The most leaders said they could agree to is decriminalizing cannabis, something already happening in a patchwork of cities and counties across the state. This includes Rock County, the Wisconsin county just north of Sunnyside.

“Full legalization is a nonstarter,” Wisconsin state Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley — a Democrat — told The News Station. “The Democratic caucus is not in favor of that.”

For a third year in a row, a bill to decriminalize marijuana has been introduced by Republicans. It has bipartisan support in the Wisconsin Assembly but not the Senate.

Even if Wisconsin legalized cannabis, Bewley said, it would still be a controlled substance, which concerns her.

“We don’t do a good job controlling the substances that are legal now,” Bewley said, citing the overuse of alcohol and prescription drugs. “If we didn’t have populations that are so horribly under-resourced, experiencing generational poverty, it would be different. I don’t think we are ready for it.”

Democratic state Sen. Melissa Agard disagrees and has introduced legislation to legalize recreational marijuana each of the last four legislative sessions.

The bill died in a committee controlled by Democrats, which Erpenbach chaired. The Medical Society of Wisconsin opposed the bill, a reason cited as to why the legislation failed at the time.

Rickert died in 2017, the day after Christmas.

Erpenbach is still an advocate for medicinal marijuana legalization, but he is no longer in the majority and lacks Republican support to pass legislation.

“Full legalization is a nonstarter,” Wisconsin state Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley — a Democrat — told The News Station. “The Democratic caucus is not in favor of that.”

For a third year in a row, a bill to decriminalize marijuana has been introduced by Republicans. It has bipartisan support in the Wisconsin Assembly but not the Senate.

Even if Wisconsin legalized cannabis, Bewley said, it would still be a controlled substance, which concerns her.

Democratic state Sen. Melissa Agard disagrees and has introduced legislation to legalize recreational marijuana each of the last four legislative sessions.

Illinois was the first state to legalize marijuana through a bill being passed by its legislature and signed into law by the governor. Other states have followed suit. Others, like Michigan, legalized recreational marijuana through a binding ballot initiative, said Karen O’Keefe, policy director with the Marijuana Policy Project, a nonprofit that advocates for marijuana legalization. That is not an option in Wisconsin, where all ballot initiatives are non-binding.

“If it was an option, you would probably have already legalized marijuana,” O’Keefe told The News Station.

To her point, voters in 16 Wisconsin counties and two cities supported ballot questions about the legalized use of marijuana — 12 of which specifically related to legalizing medical marijuana — during the 2018 election cycle.

“It’s really a slap in the face to voters,” O’Keefe said. “Even in Louisiana, which I would think is way more conservative than Wisconsin, lawmakers had a bill and were having a floor debate on the issue. Wisconsin is not.”

The Marijuana Policy Project picks six to 10 states each year to focus its legalization efforts. Wisconsin has yet to be prioritized in that way, she said.

“Our main reason right now is the leadership in the Senate and Assembly have said they don’t have enough votes,” O’Keefe said. “There are better short-term prospects for us to focus on.”

Like O’Keefe, Selthofner — with the Wisconsin Cannabis Activist Network — was part of the effort to legalize marijuana in Michigan. A few years ago, Selthofner uprooted and moved to join the Michiganders scuffing the pavement while collecting signatures to get the question on the ballot. The 2018 effort that ended with America getting its 10th state where marijuana’s locally as legal as cracking a beer.

Now back on his hemp farm in rural Green Lake County, Selthofner said powerful lobbying groups like big pharma, big tobacco and the Tavern League of Wisconsin (a 5,000-member group that recently pushed legislation allowing alcoholic “drinks to go” through the legislature and successfully sued to overturn the state’s COVID-related, indoor capacity limits for bars and restaurants) are not to blame for legalization efforts failing to move forward in Wisconsin.

“It’s personal biases and just downright uneducated assholes,” Selthofner said. “That’s really what it comes down to.”

Legalizing recreational marijuana is years away, Selthofner said. He sees decriminalization happening first in Wisconsin, followed by the legalization of medicinal marijuana.

For Wisconsin residents like Kenlay and Battaglia — who both point to our state’s perennial ranking as a heavy-drinking state — public safety and health concerns are reason enough for change.

“I think Wisconsin is behind the ball on this one,” Kenlay — from inside her car in the Sunnyside parking lot, shortly before driving home to Milwaukee — told The News Station. “At this point, I think marijuana is helping more people than it is hurting. That’s not the case with alcohol, especially in Wisconsin.”