Wisconsin Cannabis Legalization

Currently, Wisconsin state laws do not allow cannabis for medical or adult use.

Timeline:

February 2019: In his first budget, Gov. Tony Evers planned to include a proposal to legalize medical cannabis in Wisconsin and to decriminalize possessionof small amounts of cannabis for personal use. However, in March 2019, Wisconsin Legislature’s joint finance committee rejected both proposals.

February 2021: Gov. Tony Evers proposed full cannabis legalization to be included in his 2021-2023 biennial budget. However, this proposal was defeated by Republicans in a budget committee.

February 2023: Gov. Tony Evers proposed full cannabis legalization again but it was rejected yet again by the Republican legislators in Wisconsin.

September 2023: Senator Melissa Agard introduced a new bill which would have legalized both recreational and medical cannabis. However, this bill was unsuccessful.

January 2024: The Wisconsin Assembly Republicans introduced a bill which would have created a state-run medical cannabis dispensary program. However, the bill died later in the year.

February 2025: Gov. Tony Evers proposed full cannabis legalization again in his budget request. Along with the budget request, two companion bills were introduced: AB50 and SB45. The bills would create a medical marijuana program – allowing qualifying patients aged 18 and older, with debilitating medical conditions to receive medical marijuana treatment – and an adult-use market which would allow Wisconsin residents aged 21 and older to legally possess no more than 2 ounces of cannabis and non-residents to possess no more than one-quarter ounce.

September 2025: On September 29, 2025, several of Wisconsin’s senators introduced a bill proposing medical cannabis legalization. Under the proposal, patients would be able to access medical cannabis after a physician diagnoses them with a “serious medical condition” such as cancer, PTSD, or severe chronic pain. Medical cannabis licenses for private businesses would be available and there would be no limit on the number of licenses that may be issued. Legal cannabis products would include “concentrates, oils, tinctures, edibles, pills, topical forms, gels, creams, vapors, patches, liquids, or forms administered by a nebulizer”, but smokeable cannabis would be prohibited. The bill does not propose a tax on cannabis.

Wisconsin Cannabis Potential Market

According to a 2024 survey by the Marquette Law School, 63% believe that cannabis should be legal for both medical and recreational use and 86% believe that it should be legal for medical use only.

Wisconsin residents generated more than $36 million in sales tax for Illinois in 2022. Gov. Tony Evers’ plan for full cannabis legalization (which was introduced and rejected in 2023) forecasted that around $165 million in sales taxes will be collected annually. His proposal for full cannabis legalization in February 2025 estimated that $58.1 million in revenue could be generated in fiscal year 2026-27, growing in future years.

The cannabis legalization bill introduced in September 2023 by Senator Melissa Agard would have generated nearly $170 million annually in tax revenue, according to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.

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