With midterms approaching, cannabis seems to be an ace up the collective sleeve of a growing number of Democratic politicians.
Wisconsin Gov.Tony Evers recently greenlighted a special legislative session for October 4 during which lawmakers are expected to approve a constitutional amendment that would enable citizen initiatives and legislature-passed referendums to appear on the ballot.
The joint resolution would "allow the direct input of Wisconsinites is in service of that which should be the driving principle for all Wisconsin officials that 'the will of the people is the law of the land," according to an executive order signed by Evers.
The document also notes that "countless instances regarding pressing issues of statewide importance to Wisconsin" were "repeatedly rejected or altogether refused to consider policies that have the broad and bipartisan public support of the people of the state" by the state legislature.
While it mainly seeks to give voters the right to decide on reproductive rights – referring to the recent Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade- the joint resolution can easily be applied to the marijuana policy issue.
"Marijuana reform certainly fits the description," wrote Marijuana Moment's Kyle Jaeger.
While Evers did not explicitly mention cannabis, his stance on the issue is clear.
"It's time for Wisconsin to join more than a dozen states across the country by legalizing and taxing marijuana, much like we already do with alcohol, so we can continue to compete for talented workers to come to our state, expand access to medical treatment for thousands, and have more resources to invest in critical state priorities like K-12 education," said Evers, who issued a round of pardons in the state earlier.
Kentucky's Andy Beshear Reaffirms His Stance On Cannabis
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear reaffirmed his support for medical marijuana (MMJ) last week. After receiving the initial report from the Kentucky Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee, Beshear said "there will be some actions forthcoming" in terms of marijuana policy reform, reported Murray Ledger & Times.
"It's based on the expertise of the individuals that include doctors and pharmacists as well as advocates and then those that personally have gotten relief from the use of medical marijuana, or medical cannabis," the governor said. "It's also based on the input of meetings that were conducted all across Kentucky because we were committed to listening to the people of Kentucky, which parts of the general assembly have refused to."
Beshear cleared the way for a cannabis research center to open in April by approving a bill for it and using his line-item veto to expand the center's work and enable more freedom in choosing an oversight board.
While the legislative session in the Bluegrass State didn't have a happy ending for cannabis advocates and stakeholders, the governor remains optimistic.
He reminded his Twitter followers that 90% of Kentucky adults support MMJ and that the Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee will make sure every voice is heard.
To that end, Beshear gathered 17 individuals and appointed them to serve on the committee to collect feedback on the legalization of medical cannabis during town hall meetings held around the state.
According to the report, 150 people attended the meetings, with 70 speaking to the committee. In addition, 98.5% of 3,313 comments left on the committee's website by Kentuckians were supportive.
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