Texas Senate Leader Blocks Democrat’s Attempt To Let Voters Decide On Marijuana Legalization

A Texas Democratic senator brought the issue of marijuana legalization to the Senate floor on Thursday, seeking to attach to an unrelated resolution an amendment that would’ve allowed Texans to vote on ending prohibition at the ballot box.

But the symbolic proposal was ultimately shut down. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), who presides over the Senate, agreed to another member’s point of order, deeming the cannabis amendment not germane to the broader legislation.

As advocates wait to see what the Senate will do with House-passed bills to decriminalize marijuana and expand the state’s medical cannabis program, the procedural defeat raises some concerns that the anti-legalization presiding officer of the chamber will similarly move to quash more modest reform proposals.

Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D) did get a chance to speak to his amendment on the floor before it was blocked from consideration, saying it would offer Texans “an opportunity to vote on the legalization of the consumption and production of cannabis.”

Today, I filed an amendment to HJR 126 that would have allowed the people of #Texas to vote on the legalization of #Cannabis.

This would boost our economy, be a huge benefit for our farmers and would allow those who need it, like veterans, the opportunity to have it legally.… pic.twitter.com/oyuWXAItzD

— Senator Roland Gutierrez (@RolandForTexas) May 4, 2023

The senator’s measure aimed to expand a provision of the resolution’s proposed constitutional amendment that would establish the right of people to engage in farming and horticultural activities on property they own or lease. He sought to add the right of people to “cultivate cannabis for personal and commercial consumption.”

Because the overall resolution would amend the state Constitution, it requires voter approval. In that way, if adopted, the amendment would have effectively given Texans an opportunity to vote on legalization as part of a broader change.

“I’ve studied this issue at great length,” the senator said, adding that legalization would generate billions of dollars of revenue, create tens of thousands of jobs and give people who’ve been criminalized over cannabis a chance to get “back on track.”

“Every state around the state of Texas has legalized cannabis,” he said. “We are losing revenue to those states around us.”

Gutierrez also blasted the Nixon administration, saying the former president was “the most impactful at putting a negative stigma on this issue” and that he ignored the recommendations of a committee he formed that urged federal decriminalization of marijuana. Instead, Nixon “cut a deal with Congress” to place cannabis in Schedule I under federal statute, “and it has not been removed since.”

WATCH: @RolandForTexas introduces an amendment to allow Texans to vote on legalizing cannabis.

For our veterans. For our farmers. For the countless Texans of color who’ve had their entire lives ruined by minuscule pot charges.

It’s time. It’s way past time. #LegalizeIt#txlegepic.twitter.com/or4ENlyueA

— Texas Democrats (@texasdemocrats) May 4, 2023

“Our community wants to have this, and they want to be able to have the decision to vote on this,” the senator said.

Another member then questioned the germaneness of the amendment and raised a point of order, which Patrick said was “well-taken and sustained” without commenting directly on the legalization proposal.

—Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.—

While the House has advanced marijuana decriminalization in this and earlier sessions, reform has consistently stalled out in the Senate under Patrick’s authority.

The lieutenant governor’s office has not responded to several requests for comment on the marijuana bills that passed the House last month, and Patrick hasn’t given any explicit indication that he’s willing to allow the Senate to take them up.

But to Gutierrez’s point about public opinion on the issue, nearly three in four Texas voters (72 percent) support decriminalizing marijuana, according to a University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll in December. More than half (55 percent), meanwhile, said they’re in favor of broader legalization. Seventeen percent said it shouldn’t be legal at all.

A more recent survey from the same institution similarly showed that a majority of Texas voters feel that the state’s marijuana laws should be “less strict.”

On the local level in Texas, meanwhile, activists have succeeded in enacting municipal cannabis reform policies. And voters in San Antonio and Harker Heights will decide on local marijuana decriminalization ballot initiatives this Saturday.

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Wisconsin GOP Lawmakers Strip Marijuana Legalization From Governor’s Budget In Joint Hearing

Wisconsin Republican lawmakers have removed proposals to legalize marijuana for recreational and medical use from the governor’s executive budget for the 2023-2025 biennial.

At a hearing of the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee on Tuesday, members voted 12-4 to eliminate numerous provisions of Gov. Tony Evers’s (D) budget request, including measures on legalizing, taxing and regulating cannabis in the state.

The move was expected, as the GOP-controlled legislature has previously stripped marijuana reform language from past executive budgets, and top Republican lawmakers warned that any adult-use legalization proposal would not move through the process this year either.

With a historic $7 billion surplus, we have a historic responsibility and opportunity to invest in needs that have long been neglected and build the future we want for our state. Today, Republicans are rejecting more than 540 priorities for Wisconsin, including:

— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) May 2, 2023

1️⃣4️⃣ Legalizing and Taxing Marijuana I proposed legalizing and taxing marijuana, much like we already do with alcohol, which would help us compete with other states for talented workers and have more resources to invest in critical state priorities like K-12 education.

— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) May 2, 2023

“It is unfortunate that Republicans again chose to ignore the will of the majority and remove cannabis legalization from the state budget,” Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard (D) told Marijuana Moment on Tuesday. “Beyond having an immense fiscal impact on our state, legalizing cannabis addresses Wisconsin’s egregious racial disparities, bolsters our agriculture and farming heritage, safely regulates the existing illicit market, and support entrepreneurships.”

“It’s high time we get this done for the betterment of our state and the people living here,” Agard said.

#Cannabis prohibition is not working for #Wisconsin.

We need to #LegalizeIt to address Wisconsin's egregious racial disparities, bolster our agriculture and farming heritage, safely regulate the existing illicit market, and support entrepreneurhip. https://t.co/5Q8pEGkAh8

— Senator Melissa Agard 🌻 (@SenatorAgard) May 2, 2023

While Republicans have asserted that removing policy matters from the budget is a matter of fiscal responsibility, Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D) said at Tuesday’s meeting that eliminating marijuana legalization contradicts that objective, preventing the state from reaping the economic benefits of establishing a regulate cannabis market.

“The one thing that we know is that [legalization] will generate up to $44 million in tax revenue,” she said. “Now my Republican colleagues are gonna say that they are all about fiscal responsibility, right? I don’t understand how you can be fiscally responsible, but we’re…leaving $44 million in marijuana expansion on the table.”

Republicans removed marijuana legalization from @GovEvers' budget, ignoring 2/3 of Wisconsinites who support it. Their stance is even more ridiculous with untaxed Delta 8 – which is nearly indistinguishable from traditional THC – already widely available. #LegalizeIthttps://t.co/1ROfLzf2nw

— LaTonya Johnson (@StateSenLaTonya) May 2, 2023

Johnson proposed an amendment to GOP motion to reinstate the deleted provisions, including marijuana reform, but it was rejected in a 4-12 vote.

Evers’s plan would have allowed adults 21 and older purchase and possess up to two ounces of marijuana for personal use and grow up to six plants. The Department of Revenue (DOR), which called for legalization in its budget request this year, would have been responsible for regulating the market and issuing cannabis business licenses.

As part of the budget request, Evers’s office estimated that the state would generate $44.4 million in “segregated tax revenue” from legal cannabis, as well as a $10.2 million increase in state general fund tax revenue, in fiscal year 2025 if the reform is enacted.

Wisconsin Republicans just rejected 545 proposals from @GovEvers’ budget. Republicans removed Medicaid expansion, marijuana legalization, common-sense gun safety reforms, PFAS standards and so much more. pic.twitter.com/hMvSVOFcjT

— Wisconsin Senate Democrats (@SenateDemsWI) May 2, 2023

The governor also included adult-use and medical marijuana legalization in his 2021 budget, as well as decriminalization and medical cannabis in his 2019 proposal, but the conservative legislature has consistently blocked the reform.

While Republican leadership said earlier this year that negotiations over medical cannabis reform would be compromised if Evers moved forward with pushing for recreational legalization in his budget, the GOP caucus has privately met to discuss advancing medical marijuana legislation this session.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) didn’t provide details about the in-the-works proposals when he disclosed the meetings last month, but he said that the goal is to draft something with bipartisan appeal that could be enacted later this year.

Top Democrats—including Agard, the Senate minority leader who’s championed adult-use legalization—are skeptical of the plan.

“We’ve seen this story before—but actions speak louder than words,” she said last month. “Session after session, the Speaker has come forward with empty promises but no tangible steps toward any form of legal cannabis Wisconsin.”

—Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.—

Agard and Sen. Mary Felzkowski (R) also spoke about the prospects of cannabis reform during a webinar hosted by the Wisconsin Policy Forum last month.

Felzkowski, who’s previously sponsored medical cannabis legislation, said that she’s personally “very, very focused on getting medical marijuana across the finish line the session.”

But she told Marijuana Moment that there would be a need to “compromise” on the legislation, which would likely prohibit smoking cannabis and limit the conditions that would make people eligible for medical marijuana.

Wisconsin lawmakers are under pressure to provide some kind of regulated access to cannabis given the rapid regional policy shifts.

A report published in February found that 50 percent of Wisconsinites 21 and older live within 75 minutes of an out-of-state cannabis retailer, such as in Illinois or Michigan. That percentage stands to increase if legislative efforts to legalize marijuana in neighboring Minnesota are successful this session.

Wisconsin residents purchased more than $121 million worth of marijuana from legal retailers in neighboring Illinois in 2022, contributing about $36 million in tax revenue to the state, according to a recent legislative analysis requested by Agard.

Vos, the Assembly speaker, has said that trying to enact adult-use legalization through the budget could “poison the well” in the legislature, jeopardizing talks on medical cannabis. But the leader of the Senate has expressed that he thinks the more modest policy is feasible this session.

“Our caucus is getting pretty close on medical marijuana,” Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R) said. “A lot of our members, who are maybe at a point where they can vote for it now, they just want to make sure it’s regulated well.”

The governor said that he was encouraged by the Senate leader’s remarks about nearing consensus on medical marijuana, and he’s prepared to sign such legislation as long as it’s not “flawed” by including too many restrictions.

Evers didn’t bring up his legalization proposal in his budget speech this year, but he did stress in his inaugural address last month that the state needs to have a “meaningful conversation about treating marijuana much like we do alcohol.”

Some Wisconsin lawmakers have filed bills to legalize cannabis for adult use—and former Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke (R) has said legalization is “likely” to happen at some point—but the legislature has so far failed to pass even more modest proposals like decriminalization or the legalization of medical cannabis.

Ahead of the November election, Evers met with college students and urged supporters to get engaged and vote, in part to ensure that the state advances marijuana legalization.

If Democrats had won enough seats, it could have also set them up to pass a resolution that the governor introduced to allow citizens to put initiatives on the ballot. Advocates expressed hope that the move could open the door to finally letting voters decide on marijuana legalization, but it’s unlikely that GOP lawmakers will go along with it.

Meanwhile, voters across the state have been making their voices heard on cannabis reform over the past several election cycles. Most recently, voters in three counties and five municipalities across the state approved non-binding advisory questions on their local ballots in support of legalization.

The local votes are largely meant to serve a messaging purpose, providing lawmakers with a clear policy temperature-check among their constituents. But those that were approved will not change any laws by themselves.

A statewide poll released in August found that a solid 69 percent of registered voters in Wisconsin believe that cannabis should be legal. That includes 81 percent of Democrats, 75 percent of independents and 51 percent of Republicans.

Republicans filed a limited medical cannabis bill last year—and it got a hearing on the unofficial marijuana holiday 4/20, but that came too late in the legislative session for lawmakers to actually vote on the measure.

Other GOP members have filed bills to more modestly decriminalize marijuana possession in the state, but none of those proposals advanced.

As it stands, marijuana possession is punishable by a maximum $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail for a first offense. People convicted of a subsequent offense would face a felony charge punishable by a maximum $10,000 fine and up to three and a half years in prison.

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Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.

Wisconsin Residents Spent Over $121 Million On Marijuana At Illinois Retailers In 2022, Legislative Analysis Finds

Wisconsin residents purchased more than $121 million worth of marijuana from legal retailers in neighboring Illinois in 2022, contributing about $36 million in tax revenue to the state, according to a legislative analysis requested by a top Wisconsin senator.

Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard (D), who has sponsored legalization legislation in past sessions, asked the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) to study just how much money was flowing from Wisconsin to Illinois in the form of out-of-state cannabis purchases.

LFB released its findings last week, estimating $121.2 million in marijuana sales from Wisconsin residents last year.

To come up with that figure, analysts looked at data from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), which disaggregates monthly in-state and out-of-state cannabis sales and also provides county-by-county breakdowns.

LFB said that its estimates are based on the assumption that all out-of-state marijuana purchases in counties directly bordering Wisconsin came from Wisconsinites.

Wisconsin’s out-dated marijuana laws are costing us so much more than $36 million – lives are being disrupted – but this is so upsetting to see Wisconsinites hard-earned tax dollars go to Illinois because WI GOP refuses to listen to the will of the people. https://t.co/TkqUEeOH8F

— Senator Melissa Agard 🌻 (@SenatorAgard) March 17, 2023

However, it pointed out that the actual numbers could be higher or lower based on a variety of factors, including the likely possibility that portions of out-of-state sales in the border counties came from people in other nearby states like Iowa or that Wisconsin residents could have paid for cannabis in Illinois counties that don’t directly border their state, such as Cook County where Chicago is located.

Further, the analysis doesn’t account for potential sales in other adult-use states near Wisconsin like Michigan.

Despite that margin of error, however, the report gives a basic idea of the amount of revenue that Wisconsin is losing out on as the GOP-controlled legislature continues to resist enacting legislation to create a regulated marijuana market in the state.

Via LFB.

“It should upset every Wisconsinite that our hard earned tax dollars are going across the border to Illinois,” Agard said in a press release. “This is revenue that could be going toward Wisconsin’s public schools, transportation infrastructure, and public safety. Instead, Illinois is reaping the benefits of Republican obstructionism and their prohibitionist stance on marijuana legalization.”

“We are an island of prohibition and the people of our state are hurting because of it,” she said. “As seen in our neighboring states, legalizing marijuana for responsible adult usage will generate significant revenue for our mainstreets, safely regulate the existing illicit market, reinvest in our agriculture and farming heritage, support entrepreneurship, and address the massive and egregious racial disparities from marijuana prohibition.”

A separate report published last month by Wisconsin Policy Forum found that 50 percent of adults 21 and older in the state live within 75 minutes of an out-of-state cannabis retailer, such as in Illinois or Michigan. That percentage stands to increase if legislative efforts to legalize marijuana in neighboring Minnesota are successful this session.

Meanwhile, Gov. Tony Evers (D) released his biennial budget request last month, and it again included language to legalize medical and recreational marijuana in the state.

Let’s #LegalizeIt! 69% of Wisconsinites support marijuana legalization. https://t.co/b8hAlOuBAM

— Senator Melissa Agard 🌻 (@SenatorAgard) March 17, 2023

The governor had previously signaled that he planned to put the adult-use measure in his request, despite a top GOP lawmaker warning that taking that step could compromise negotiations on more modest medical cannabis legislation.

Agard said that “if Republicans choose to remove it from the budget, I will once again introduce my bill to achieve this goal,” adding that it’s “high time we get this done for the betterment of our state and the people living here.”

“The fundamental aspect of our job as legislators is to listen to the people we represent. The people of Wisconsin have been asking the legislature to take up common sense measures that will push our state forward,” the minority leader said. “We know that legalizing cannabis for responsible adult use is wildly popular among Wisconsinites, including the majority of Republicans.”

Wisconsin residents sent $36 million in tax revenue and $121 million in total sales to Illinois last year because Republicans in our state refuse to legalize marijuana.

It’s past time we joined our neighbors in legalizing cannabis. pic.twitter.com/VCtgSSfIpj

— Senator Chris Larson (@SenChrisLarson) March 17, 2023

As part of the governor’s budget request, his office estimated that the state would generate $44.4 million in “segregated tax revenue” from legal cannabis, as well as a $10.2 million increase in state general fund tax revenue, in fiscal year 2025 if the reform is enacted.

The governor also included adult-use and medical marijuana legalization in his 2021 budget, as well as decriminalization and medical cannabis in his 2019 proposal, but the conservative legislature has consistently blocked the reform.

—Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.—

While Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) said in January that trying to enact adult-use legalization through the budget could “poison the well” in the legislature, jeopardizing talks on medical cannabis, the leader of the Senate has expressed that he thinks the more modest policy is feasible this session.

“Our caucus is getting pretty close on medical marijuana,” Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R) said. “A lot of our members, who are maybe at a point where they can vote for it now, they just want to make sure it’s regulated well.”

The governor said recently that he was encouraged by the Senate leader’s remarks about nearing consensus on medical marijuana, and he’s prepared to sign such legislation as long as it’s not “flawed” by including too many restrictions.

Evers didn’t bring up his legalization proposal in his budget speech this year, but he did stress in his inaugural address last month that the state needs to have a “meaningful conversation about treating marijuana much like we do alcohol.”

Some Wisconsin lawmakers have filed bills to legalize cannabis for adult use—and former Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke (R) has said legalization is “likely” to happen at some point—but the legislature has so far failed to pass even more modest proposals like decriminalization or the legalization of medical cannabis.

Ahead of the November election, Evers met with college students and urged supporters to get engaged and vote, in part to ensure that the state advances marijuana legalization.

If Democrats had won enough seats, it could have also set them up to pass a resolution that the governor introduced to allow citizens to put initiatives on the ballot. Advocates expressed hope that the move could open the door to finally letting voters decide on marijuana legalization, but it’s unlikely that GOP lawmakers will go along with it.

Meanwhile, voters across the state have been making their voices heard on cannabis reform over the past several election cycles. Most recently, voters in three counties and five municipalities across the state approved non-binding advisory questions on their local ballots in support of legalization.

The local votes are largely meant to serve a messaging purpose, providing lawmakers with a clear policy temperature-check among their constituents. But those that were approved will not change any laws by themselves.

A statewide poll released in August found that a solid 69 percent of registered voters in Wisconsin believe that cannabis should be legal. That includes 81 percent of Democrats, 75 percent of independents and 51 percent of Republicans.

Republicans filed a limited medical cannabis bill last year—and it got a hearing on the unofficial marijuana holiday 4/20, but that came too late in the legislative session for lawmakers to actually vote on the measure.

Other GOP members have filed bills to more modestly decriminalize marijuana possession in the state, but none of those proposals advanced.

As it stands, marijuana possession is punishable by a maximum $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail for a first offense. People convicted of a subsequent offense would face a felony charge punishable by a maximum $10,000 fine and up to three and a half years in prison.

The governor vetoed a GOP-led bill last year that would have significantly ramped up criminal penalties for people who use butane or similar fuels to extract marijuana.

And in the interim as lawmakers pursue reform, the governor has issued hundreds of pardons during his years in office, primarily to people convicted of non-violent marijuana or other drug offenses.

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