The Impact of Marijuana Legalization on Wisconsin’s Economy

A Marquette study found that 64% of registered voters in Wisconsin want marijuana to be legalized. But is it getting close?

“How can Wisconsin not be ready for fun?” Air Force and Army Vet Michael Hanson said.

Michael Hanson had PTSD after his tours in Afghanistan, his mother’s death, and his divorce.

That’s when he started drinking.

“To be honest with you, I was already going that way,” Hanson said.

He goes on to say that therapy, the help of his friends, and cannabis helped him deal with that problem, and he’s glad it didn’t get worse.

“It was neither Xanax nor alcohol nor molly nor heroin. It could have happened. Simple, “said Hanson.

He turned to marijuana to help him deal with his feelings, but he knows that it takes more than the effects of cannabis to help him.

Hanson said, “It doesn’t get rid of anxiety; there’s no cure-all.” “Marijuana doesn’t fix everything, but by God’s grace, it takes the edge off. To cut the edge, that’s all a person really needs.”

Hanson doesn’t stand alone. Mitch Craven, the owner of Alleviate Wellness in Stevens Point, has been through his own hard times and turned to cannabis as a refuge and a passion.

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“I’ve used cannabis to treat my bipolar disorder in the past, and I was able to stop taking prescription drugs,” said Craven. “I really started the store because I love the plant, and all the stories we’ve heard and the feedback we’ve gotten gives me goosebumps.”

Alleviate Wellness is now selling products with THC, which is legal as long as it comes from hemp. Like Hanson, Craven sells to a lot of people who want the same kind of relief.

“Veterans with PTSD, new mothers with postpartum depression, people who have trouble sleeping, people with Alzheimer’s, and so on,” said Craven.

So what’s the difference between hemp and marijuana? The plant is the same, but hemp has less than 0.3% THC while marijuana has more than that.

So Craven and other distributors can sell products with THC in them. Since they became legal in 2019, Carbon Cannabis in La Crosse has been fighting for legalization. Now, they say they’re doing well, but they see problems with the way things are done in Wisconsin.

Austin Wszolek, the founder of Carbon Cannabis, said, “The hemp industry is going full speed ahead in Wisconsin, and there are no rules about it at all.” “There is no safety for customers at all. There are no rules about testing or making sure that the product was grown in Wisconsin.”

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Wszolek says that safety should be the most important factor when deciding whether or not to legalize marijuana. He also says that other producers should be held accountable for making sure their products are what they say they are.

Wszolek said, “I know it sounds crazy, but I’d love to see some rules.”

People say that using marijuana has positive effects, but experts say there are also risks. The CDC says that marijuana can be especially bad for young people’s brain development and function. It can also hurt people’s hearts and lungs and make their mental health worse.

So how far in the future could laws be? The state legislature is at a standstill right now.

Governor Tony Evers and other Democrats have been pushing for medical and recreational marijuana to be legalized. Some Republicans, like state Senator Patrick Testin, do support medical marijuana.

“When my grandfather had cancer and was dying, he had to break the law and use marijuana. It was one of the few things that helped him eat again,” said Testin.

But Testin says that the issue worries him when people use it for fun.

Testin said, “One of my biggest worries is that it will get into the wrong hands, so I think we need to be careful and watchful.”

Some people are left wondering how long they will wait since there is no clear answer.

With Michigan and Illinois already allowing both full recreational and medical use and Minnesota and Iowa on the verge of doing the same, cannabis businesses and users may want to move to other states to do business.

“Unfortunately, that would mean we would have to move to Minnesota,” Wszolek said.

In his plan for the next budget, Gov. Evers said he would like to see both medical and recreational marijuana become legal.

The number of sales shows that marijuana is big business.

According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, recreational marijuana sales in Michigan topped $200 million in December 2022, while sales in Illinois totaled $143.9 million. The study goes on to say that 15% of the marijuana sold in Illinois was at dispensaries near the Wisconsin border.

In Michigan, tax money went to the counties, cities, schools, and transportation systems.