Could Wisconsin Be Next?
On Nov. 4, Michigan
became the 13th state to legalize medical marijuana when 63% of its
voters approved a grassroots-supported ballot initiative. Now, a
quarter of all Americans live in a medical marijuana state.
But even though 80% of Wisconsin
residents approve of legalizing medical marijuana for seriously ill
patients, the state does not allow voters to ratify a program through
the ballot initiative process, as Michigan
did. Instead, medical marijuana supporters must urge the state
Legislature to pass a bill in both houses that also would be supported
by the governor.
Unfortunately, attempts to get a
well-thought-out bill through the state Legislature have failed in past
years, even with bipartisan support among lawmakers.
But Gary
Storck, spokesman for Is My Medicine Legal Yet? (IMMLY), said he’s
“fairly confident” that a Democratically controlled state Legislature
will legalize medical marijuana in the next session.
“It’s
becoming more of a mainstream issue,” Storck said. “And it would be
really wrong to delay something that got such strong support in Michigan.
I think it would be incredibly cruel to string it out. The groundwork
has already been done.”
While most medical marijuana users are coping with cancer treatments, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS and chronic pain, Storck added that veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or brain injuries may also benefit from medical marijuana use. Other research indicates that using marijuana may forestall Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
What’s more, Storck argued that the state as a whole would benefit economically from cannabis research and a legal medical marijuana industry. “It’s an industry with a lot of jobs,” Storck said. “And we can have it here really easily.”
Storck is also
encouraged by the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal on Dec. 1 to review a
case concerning California’s
medical marijuana law. He said it shows that even the highest court in
the land has decided to respect state laws in this area, despite a 2005
court decision that seemed to give the federal government more power over state-level medical marijuana programs.
“This is a case with ramifications in Wisconsin,” Storck said. “There isn’t a gray area anymore. The Supreme Court said that law enforcement should uphold state law first.”
Storck said that a Milwaukee-area NORML chapter is in the works; those who are interested can contact him at www.immly.org or the state chapter of NORML at www.winorml.org.
—Lisa Kaiser
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