Skip navigation menu

Marijuana / Cannabis Legalization

I support full adult-use cannabis legalization in Wisconsin. It’s time to stop sending our money, jobs, and opportunities to Illinois, Michigan, and the black market. Smart, responsible legalization will protect our small businesses, bring hundreds of millions of dollars back to Wisconsin, create jobs, and deliver real criminal-justice reform.

1. Protecting Wisconsin’s Small Hemp Businesses

Wisconsin already has a thriving $700 million hemp-derived THC industry with thousands of local jobs and small shops across the state. Federal changes are closing the 2018 Farm Bill loophole in November 2026, which threatens to wipe out many of these businesses. Legalization gives these local entrepreneurs a clear path to stay open and grow. I will fight for legislation that:

  • Gives existing small hemp shops priority licensing and lower fees

  • Protects local ownership (no out-of-state mega-corporations dominating the market)

  • Allows home grow for personal use

  • Supports farmers transitioning from hemp to regulated cannabis

Competition will exist, but it is far better than watching our neighbors shut down while revenue and jobs flow out of state. Done right, legalization grows the pie for Wisconsin small businesses.

2. Bringing Tax Revenue Home to Wisconsin

Every year Wisconsin families spend over $121 million on cannabis in Illinois alone — sending $36 million in taxes straight to Illinois schools and roads. That money belongs in Wisconsin. Nonpartisan estimates show that full legalization with reasonable taxes could generate roughly $166 million per year for our state. Here is where I believe the revenue should go:

  • At least 25–40% dedicated to roads, bridges, and infrastructure

  • Significant investment in schools and workforce training

  • Funding for addiction treatment, prevention, and expungement of past low-level offenses

  • The rest to general revenue and grants to help Wisconsin farmers and small businesses

Legalization stops the outflow and lets us invest in the things Wisconsin families actually need.

3. My Plan Moving Forward

Multiple bills are now on the table: full adult-use + medical legalization (Democrats), medical-only (SB 534), decriminalization, and hemp-protection bills. My clear next steps:

  • Pass the strongest possible reform this session — full adult-use is best, but medical access is a good first step

  • Work across the aisle for a compromise that actually gets signed into law

  • In Congress, I will fight for SAFE banking, expanded research, and federal rescheduling so Wisconsin businesses are no longer trapped in the federal gray zone

  • Keep listening to the 67% of Wisconsin voters (including nearly half of Republicans) who already support full legalization

Wisconsin is ready. The Midwest is moving. The only question is whether our leaders catch up before we lose even more jobs and revenue. Bottom line: Legal, regulated cannabis in Wisconsin means more money for our roads and schools, more opportunities for our small businesses, and fewer resources wasted on failed prohibition.