Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) said during a tour stop last week that adult-use cannabis legalization should be a priority for the state in the 2025 legislative session, Marijuana Moment reports.
Cannabis remains strictly prohibited in Wisconsin except in limited forms for medicinal purposes, although a number of cities including Madison and Milwaukee have decriminalized low-level possession.
Evers, who supports ending cannabis prohibition, mentioned legalization second on a list of goals for his administration next year, putting only the state’s healthcare program for low-income residents before it:
“Expanding Badger Care, legalizing marijuana, protecting access to reproductive healthcare, enacting common sense gun safety reform, moving forward on evidence based justice reform, protecting our environment and investing in our kids and schools at every level.” — Evers, during the budget listening tour, via FOX 11
But while Evers has long advocated for cannabis reforms, the state’s GOP-controlled Legislature has broadly opposed legalization. Democrats picked up some seats but Republicans still have the majority in both chambers, so any cannabis reform efforts are likely to be hampered until at least after the 2026 elections, the report said.
Last year, a memo from the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau found that in 2022, neighboring Illinois — which has a regulated adult-use cannabis industry — generated about $36.1 million in cannabis tax revenue from sales to Wisconsin residents.
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