The State of Cannabis in Wisconsin

This report highlights the popularity of legalization in Wisconsin and racial disparities in the criminalization of marijuana. Key findings include:

• Legalization support is widespread across all political groups and registered Wisconsin voters, according to a January 2024 Marquette Law School Poll, which highlighted that 78% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 95% of Democrats supported legalizing medical marijuana. Legalization of marijuana for recreational use is also supported by the majority of registered voters.
• Additionally, Wisconsin voters made their voices heard in a series of advisory referendums about weed in 2018 and 2022. A majority of voters supported the measure each of the dozen times recreational marijuana legalization has appeared on ballots.
• In 2022, Black people were 5.29 times more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession in Wisconsin despite comparable national marijuana usage rates. In 2018, an ACLU report found that Black Wisconsinites were 4.2 times as likely to be arrested for possession.
• In 2022, there were more than 13,400 arrests in Wisconsin for cannabis offenses, the overwhelming majority of which were for simple possession.
• Wisconsin is an outlier nationwide, and is surrounded by states with legal weed. Wisconsin residents spent $121 million in 2022 on cannabis sales in neighboring Illinois, contributing an estimated $36 million to Illinois tax revenue.
• The Legislative Fiscal Bureau projected Wisconsin would generate $165.8 million in tax revenue each year in Wisconsin under the recreational legalization proposal in Governor Evers’ 2021-23 Executive Budget.

The criminalization of weed is unpopular, costly, and racist. We call on Wisconsin legislators to listen to their constituents and move legalization proposals forward during the 2025-26 legislative session.