Wisconsin Assembly speaker rejects compromise on medical cannabis bill

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Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos says he won’t amend a Republican bill that would create a restrictive medical cannabis regime, despite opposition from some fellow GOP lawmakers.

“We have a very detailed bill that I am pretty sure has 50 votes in our caucus to pass,” Vos said during a Tuesday news conference, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“So taking and renegotiating the bill means we probably lose votes in our caucus.”

The medical marijuana legalization bill would offer new, albeit limited, business opportunities, with MMJ being sold at five state-run dispensaries.

However, that prospect rankled some members of the state GOP.

Last week, Republican Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu described the idea of state-operated dispensaries as a “nonstarter,” the Associated Press reported.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has been supportive of medical and adult-use marijuana legalization in Wisconsin.

But GOP lawmakers shot down his 2023 legalization proposal before putting forth their more limited MMJ plan.

Evers recently said he would support the Assembly GOP’s medical marijuana proposal.