Clearing the Air: What Can Wisconsin Learn from Marijuana Laws in Other States?

In 2023, Minnesota became the third of Wisconsin's four neighboring states to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes, after Illinois and Michigan did so prior to the COVID-19 pandemic; Wisconsin is also one of just 12 states to not have a comprehensive medical marijuana program. ARI BROWN is senior research associate for the Wisconsin Policy Forum, and his presentation will center around two reports produced by the Wisconsin Policy Forum: the first - written in 2023 - looks at how the rollout of recreational marijuana has gone in Michigan and Illinois given their adjacency to Wisconsin. The second - written in 2019 - looked at the intricacies of medical marijuana laws in place around the country at that time and considered questions of eligibility, access, and taxation to arrive at considerations for Wisconsin's state-level policymakers. What does access to marijuana in Wisconsin look like today, and what could it look like in the future?