Evers wants to legalize marijuana in Wisconsin; challenger Michels wants it to stay banned

MADISON - Democratic incumbent Gov. Tony Evers and his Republican challenger Tim Michels are on opposite sides of whether marijuana should be legal in Wisconsin, a change that a majority of voters want state lawmakers to make. 

Evers, who is seeking a second term, is planning to again propose legalizing marijuana in the next state budget if he is re-elected. The plan, which would require users to be 21 to purchase, is estimated to generate $166 million in revenue that Evers wants to use to help fund schools. 

Michels, a construction executive, does not support legalizing marijuana — a position mirrored by Republicans who control the state Legislature who have blocked Evers' marijuana proposals twice already.

A spokeswoman for Michels did not respond to a request for comment, but in recent months, Michels suggested the idea would lead to the legalization of harmful substances.  

"I do not support the legalization of marijuana," Michels said in an interview in May on WTAQ. "I think it's all a slippery slope. I really do."

Sixty-nine percent of Wisconsin voters polled in August by the Marquette University Law School said they support legalizing marijuana. Twenty-three percent said they did not want marijuana legalized and 8% said they didn't have an opinion. 

2019:Gov. Tony Evers calls for decriminalization of recreational marijuana use

2021:Republicans plan to throw out Evers' efforts to legalize marijuana and raise minimum wage

Evers' official say legalizing marijuana would generate $165 million for state in first year

In a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Evers said Wisconsin should treat marijuana like alcohol.

“It's time for Wisconsin to join more than a dozen states across the country by legalizing and taxing marijuana, much like we already do with alcohol, so we can continue to compete for talented workers to come to our state, expand access to medical treatment for thousands, and have more resources to invest in critical state priorities like K-12 education,” Evers said. 

Wisconsin is in a minority of states that have not legalized marijuana use in some form. Thirty-six states have medical marijuana programs, including states bordering Wisconsin.

In 2018, voters in 16 counties and two cities voiced support for the legalization of medical or recreational marijuana through advisory referendum questions on their ballots that year. The referendums solicited opinions on legalizing personal use for adults age 21 years or older. 

State lawmakers could use the information from the results to gauge public support for the idea. 

More:Milwaukee County Board votes to drop fine for marijuana possession to up to $1

Evers' officials estimate the plan would generate about $165 million in the fiscal year that starts in the summer of 2024. 

Evers or Michels will introduce their state budget proposal in the early months of 2023. Lawmakers will then spend the next few months rewriting it before returning it to the governor for final approval. Wisconsin governors have broad powers to veto portions of the spending plan passed by lawmakers.

The plan Evers wants to put forward is similar to past proposals, which called for marijuana retailers and distributors to obtain permits from the state Department of Revenue. Marijuana producers and processors would also need to get permits from both the Department of Revenue and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

The state agencies would be required to test marijuana products for potency and contaminants, including mold and pesticides. 

The state would levy a 15% excise tax on wholesale marijuana sales and a 10% excise tax on retail sales under the plan. In addition, the existing sales tax would be charged for retail sales. The taxes would generate $165.8 million in the fiscal year that runs from July 2024 to June 2025, according to the governor's office. 

Legalizing marijuana becoming more popular, but powerful Republicans oppose it

Marijuana continues to be a flashpoint in the state Capitol, with more Republican lawmakers and candidates becoming supportive of proposals to legalize what Democrats have long proposed — especially for medicinal use.

But powerful Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu has said he is not open to legislation that legalizes marijuana until the Food and Drug Administration OKs the idea. 

"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 in 2021.

Aides to Rep. Mark Born and Sen. Howard Marklein, Republican lawmakers who oversee the Legislature's budget-writing committee, did not say whether Evers' proposal has a chance of being included in the next state budget plan. 

All four Republican candidates for governor were also skeptical of the idea during the primary.

Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who was defeated by Michels in the Aug. 9 primary election, said she was opposed to legalization because of the pathways to more potent drugs and narcotics trafficking that law enforcement had identified to her.

“I listen to cops,” Kleefisch said. “We know that marijuana is a gateway drug because this is what law enforcement says. We need to stop it where it starts.”

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Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.