Wisconsin Senator Melissa Agard has launched a petition calling for the GOP to hold a hearing on cannabis legalization.
Ms Agard put forward a bill to legalize cannabis, however GOP Senators refuse to hold a hearing on the bill.
The bill would legalize adult use cannabis for people over the age of 21 as well as legalizing medical cannabis, support grants for social equity initiatives, and impose a 15% excise tax on cannabis producers and a 10% tax on retailers, among other initiatives.
She states in the petition: “We know that cannabis legalization is a popular policy in Wisconsin, yet Republican Legislators in the Capitol refuse to even schedule a public hearing for my bill to #LegalizeIt.”
Legalizing cannabis ‘will open up new frontiers of economic opportunities, while bringing equity to our discriminatory criminal justice system. We must be willing to put aside partisan politics and prioritize the development of family-supporting jobs through the cannabis industry’, she explained.
The petition continues: “Our farmers are ready. Communities that have been harmed by over-enforced drug policies are ready. Our Main Streets are ready. Wisconsin is ready to grow our future.”
