Wisconsin Could Legalize Marijuana Next Year Under Either Party, Congressman Says

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) says Wisconsin has a strong chance to legalize marijuana as soon as next year, especially if Democrats flip the legislature, but possibly even under continued GOP control due to the retirement of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. Pocan pointed to Majority Leader Tyler August as a more libertarian potential successor and noted that Wisconsin residents are already crossing into Illinois to buy cannabis.

A Democratic congressman from Wisconsin says the state is poised to legalize marijuana as soon as next year, with the outcome hinging on November's legislative elections but not necessarily requiring a Democratic majority. Rep. Mark Pocan told Marijuana Moment there is a "really good chance" of legalizing cannabis in the short term if Democrats can "flip the legislature," where reform proposals have stalled under Republican control in recent sessions.

Pocan said cannabis legislation could still advance even if the GOP keeps control, because current Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, whom he called "very anti-marijuana," is retiring at the end of this year. Majority Leader Tyler August has been mentioned as a possible successor, and Pocan described the incoming Republican as "far more libertarian, even more than a Republican." August said last year that it is time to modernize Wisconsin's approach to cannabis, noting that marijuana and THC products are readily available over state lines.

The congressman said a dispensary just over the border in Illinois has a parking lot full of Wisconsin cars, and that most Wisconsin legislators he has spoken with want to change the law because the state is surrounded by legal markets. "We can continue to pretend it's the 1950s, or we can accept where society's at," Pocan said. "Just arresting people for that seems like a terrible waste of resources."

Gov. Tony Evers and Democratic lawmakers have pushed for recreational and medical legalization for years, but those proposals have been blocked by the legislature's Republican majority. A limited medical cannabis bill cleared one committee this session but did not advance further. Evers is not running again this year, and Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Crowley has said reform supporters "cannot wait until after the governor's election" to push the issue.

A Marquette Law School poll released last year found that two in three Wisconsin voters support legalizing marijuana. A legislative analysis estimated that Wisconsin residents spent more than $121 million on cannabis in Illinois alone in 2022, contributing $36 million in tax revenue to the neighboring state. The state Department of Revenue projected that a legalization bill would generate nearly $170 million annually in tax revenue.