Wisconsin Senate leader says state will not legalize marijuana

Wisconsin’s Senate leader on Thursday said that the state will not move to legalize marijuana due to the lack of support among Republicans. 

“We don’t have support from the caucus. That’s pretty clear, that we don’t have 17 votes in the caucus for medicinal purposes or recreational purposes (to) legalize it,” Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R) said, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Although some Republicans in Wisconsin’s Senate seem to support medical marijuana, LeMahieu is against the measure.

“I think that discussion needs to be done at the federal level and not have some rogue state doing it without actual science behind it,” LeMahieu said.

LeMahieu will only take up legislation aimed at legalizing medical marijuana if it seems like there would be enough votes for it to pass with only Republicans, the state outlet reported.

The discussion around legalizing marijuana comes after Gov. Tony Evers (D) proposed the idea in order to increase the state budget.

“Legalizing and taxing marijuana in Wisconsin — just like we do already with alcohol — ensures a controlled market and safe product are available for both recreational and medical users and can open the door for countless opportunities for us to reinvest in our communities and create a more equitable state,” Evers said in February. 

Even though 83 percent of Wisconsin voters agreed with at least legalizing medical marijuana, many Republicans in the Senate are strictly against it.

Democratic Sen. Melissa Agard did propose a bill to fully legalize marijuana in the state.

“It’s really clear that many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are out of touch with what the vast majority of the people of Wisconsin are asking for us to do,” Agard said.