‘It’s never too late:’ Sen. Agard says cannabis legalization is knocking on Wisconsin’s door | McFarland Thistle

A single mother of four and a newly elected Senator may be Wisconsin’s political advocates for legalizing cannabis.

Wisconsin State Senator Melissa Agard (D-Madison) represents the state’s 16th district, which includes areas like Monona, Cottage Grove, McFarland and more. Agard was elected to her Senate seat in November 2020 with a promise to legalize cannabis use legalization across Wisconsin in the campaign.

It is. Melissa Agard

Granted, Agard hasn’t always been a standout proponent of legalized cannabis. It wasn’t until she campaigned for the State Assembly in 2012 that she said citizens across Wisconsin had changed the way they thought.

“When I first ran for parliament about nine years ago… legalizing cannabis wasn’t a big point on my platform, but after I was on the campaign a few people got in touch and told me how the cannabis ban was going negative had affected her lives, ”said Agard.

“After I was elected, that narrative continued, so I started doing a little research … and my mind was changed,” she continued. “It was necessary to speak and listen to people from across our state with very different stories to convince me that this was something I had to adopt.”

Currently, the only legal form of cannabis approved in Wisconsin is the use of CBD oil. Agard said she believes cannabis should be legalized, taxed, and regulated in the same way as alcohol should be in Wisconsin, a move neighboring states like Illinois and Michigan have already taken.

Early in her career as a state assembly, Agard wrote a bill that would do just that. However, due to the lack of support from Republican colleagues in the state assembly, the law never got the traction it needed to pass it.

“The Republican leadership at the Capitol Building … they have no appetite to go on [legalizing cannabis]”She said,” When I’ve spoken to people who are against it, it seems to me very much that they have no current or valid information on which to base their opinion. “

Earlier this week, the GOP-led Joint Finance Committee voted to kill nearly 400 items from Governor Tony Evers ‘budget, including legalizing marijuana, Associated Press’ Scott Bauer reported.

In an interview with the Herald-Independent last month, Agard said she was ready to reintroduce marijuana legislation as a stand-alone bill if it were shot down in Evers’ proposal.

“It is very clear that the ban does not work with alcohol, nor does it work with cannabis,” she said. “The most dangerous thing about cannabis in Wisconsin right now is that it’s illegal. By legalizing it, we can offer our citizens more security and prosperity … it’s never too late.”

She released a statement Thursday in which she said, “If Republicans want to take up these issues separately, then we’re actually including them. I urge my Republican counterparts to move forward with policies that they claim don’t belong in the budget. Let’s discuss these guidelines in public hearings, board meetings, and in the field. We all lose if we ignore people’s will. Shame on Wisconsin Republicans for ignoring them now. “

Despite obstacles like last week’s Joint Finance Committee vote, there are some Republicans in Wisconsin who have shown an interest in moving closer to legalizing cannabis in recent years.

In 2019, Senator Kathy Bernier (R-Chippewa Falls) introduced a bill to legalize cannabis for medical purposes. However, the bill made no mention of legalizing the drug for recreational use.

In February of this year, Bernier was a strong critic of Governor Tony Evers’ decision to include recreational cannabis legalization in his budget proposal for 2021.

“I support the concept of the bill that … I introduced the final session on medical marijuana,” said Bernier. “The federal government still considers marijuana a List 1 drug. I think that needs to be changed. It is clear, however, that there is no legislative support for this change, just as there was no appetite for the medical marijuana law that I introduced in the last session. Rather than acknowledge this, the governor decided to launch a half-baked recreational marijuana legalization program on Super Bowl Sunday, barely a week before his household address. “

In March, Bernier reintroduced a cannabis bill, this time aiming to decriminalize the drug by lowering fines for possession and removing the required six-month prison sentence that usually comes with a possession charge.

“The bottom line is [Evers] know, I know, we know Republican lawmakers won’t do this [fully] legalize marijuana per se, “said Bernier.” So, let’s talk about the things we can do and work together. “

Agard said legislative pushes for legalization from across the political arena like Berniers are a step in the right direction, but still not as progressive as she would like to see.

“It’s always refreshing to see that my Republican colleagues are ready to join these conversations and reflect on how the cannabis ban in Wisconsin has affected our community, and surely any steps we can take there will appreciated, “said Agard. “However, I don’t think that by decriminalizing cannabis or lowering fines and fees, we are doing everything we can to ensure that Wisconsin is a fairer and more equitable community for all.”

In addition to the economic benefits, Agard said her biggest motivation in advancing cannabis legalization is the impact it would have on social justice issues.

A March report from the Milwaukee District Attorney found that black Wisconsinites are 4.2 times more likely than white Wisconsinites to be arrested on cannabis charges.

“We know cannabis is used in much the same way by people of all races, but black and brown people are more likely to be arrested for simple possession,” Agard said. “It’s important to talk about economics, but it’s also very important to talk about the social justice aspect of cannabis legalization because they are undoubtedly intertwined.”

Agard has described cannabis legalization as a multi-billion dollar industry “knocking on Wisconsin’s door”.

She said taxes and royalties alone could generate more than $ 160 million in revenue for the state if cannabis were legalized. Agard said legalization would also give a boost to local Wisconsin farmers, including many struggling with revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When asked why Wisconsin seems too late in the game when it comes to cannabis legislation compared to the rest of the Midwest, Agard said it all came down to gerrymandering.

“It really all boils down to our highly competitive state,” she said. “I am confident that in a year of redrawing the boundaries of our legislative districts, it will be fairer and that the will of the people will actually be respected in our policymaking in ways that it has not been in the last decade . “

Gerrymandering was a topic that surfaced this week when Agard toured the district for seven listening sessions in parks.

Wisconsin last drew maps for the state’s legislative and congressional districts 10 years ago, 2011. With new districts scheduled to be drawn this year, Agard believes this problem could continue into the next year as well.

She said if she could look into a crystal ball she believes “the legislature will vote on the policy … through the majority party,” Evers will veto and it will go to court. She hopes this year will end, but it could get caught in the judicial system.

She said at her listening session at Cottage Grove Thursday that the boroughs currently inhabited by Gerrymander do not represent the values ​​of the state of Wisconsin.

It is “not what represents the will of the people,” she said.