MADISON, WI — When lawmakers in Wisconsin convene next week for the start of the 2017-2018 Biennium, expect to see legislation introduced to legalize marijuana.
According to the Washington, DC-based Marijuana Policy Project, State Rep. Melissa Sargent “plans to reintroduce legislation that would end Wisconsin’s criminalization of adult marijuana consumers in exchange for taxing and regulating it like alcohol.”
The proposal would also allow medical marijuana access for seriously ill residents, including adults and minors.
Sargent introduced a similar proposal in 2015, which would have allowed Wisconsin residents 21 or older to legally possess up to half an ounce of marijuana. Out of state residents would have been limited to a quarter ounce of pot under the proposal.
Sargent’s proposed 2015 bill would have established a system of state regulated marijuana retail outlets, with retail marijuana sales subject to a special 25% sales tax.
Wisconsin’s 2017-18 legislative session begins January 11.
Tags: 2017-2018 Biennium, medical marijuana, Melissa Sargent, recreational marijuana, Wisconsin, Wisconsin marijuana legalization, Wisconsin medical marijuana