Medical

47 years as a medical cannabis patient Oct. 3

October 3, 2019 - Today, Wednesday, October 3, 2019 is a special date for me, marking the 47th "cannaversary" of the first time I smoked cannabis before visiting my ophthalmologist for a glaucoma checkup and discovering cannabis had the potential to save my sight from a lifetime of glaucoma. October 3, 1972 was a pleasant early fall day. The weather history says the high for the day was 63 with southerly winds...

Medical

Sen. Erpenbach, Rep. Taylor, and Sen. Testin Introduce Bipartisan Legislation Bill to Legalize Medical Cannabis in Wisconsin

September 20, 2019 - Bipartisan medical cannabis legislation from Senators Erpenbach and Testin and Rep. Chris Taylor has been introduced today, per a press release from the three lawmakers. Originally, Rep. Rep. Mary Felzkowski (R-Irma) was also part of the coalition but dropped out and will be releasing her own bill. Testin, who chairs the Senate Health committee, seems likely to potentially hold public hearings...

Medical

Madison FOX 47 looks at Medical Cannabis and Opioids in Special Report

August 1, 2019 - Cannabadger was interviewed by Fox47's Michelle Carolla for a Special Report: Marijuana vs. Opioids in the fight against addiction. The report aired Wednesday, July 31, 2019 and also included cannabis bill sponsor Rep. Melissa Sargent and longtime anti-cannabis zealot Dr. Michael M. Miller MD. Below is a partial transcript of the report including my comments: Michelle Carolla: For years now, there...

History

My First Medical Marijuana Public Hearing 40 Years Ago Today

July 31, 2019 - Forty years ago today, on July 31, 1979, I attended my first public hearing on cannabis at the Wisconsin Capitol in Madison. The meeting of the Assembly's Committee on Health and Social Services was held in the North Hearing room. There were two bills on the docket, a cannabis decriminalization bill, AB107, along with a medical cannabis bill, AB 279. A couple years earlier, Andy Kane of Wisconsin...

Decriminalization

New figures from WI DOJ show state pot possession arrests dipped 2% in 2018

July 25, 2019 - According to updated figures released April 29, 2019 by the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ), Wisconsin marijuana possession arrests in 2018 increased 2% from 2017 from 17,048 to 17,392 , while state marijuana sales arrests dipped 2% from 1,867 to 1,822. Previously, DOJ data from 2017 revealed that arrests for possession of marijuana increased from 16,245 to 17,022 from 2016 to 2017, an increase...

Politics

OPINION: U.S. Supreme Court ruling on gerrymandering is setback to cannabis law reform hopes in Wisconsin

June 27, 2019 - The U.S. Supreme Court's (SCOTUS) 5-4 ruling today in two cases that the court has no role in overseeing gerrymandering in states is a big setback to hopes of passing legislation regulating cannabis in Wisconsin. Wisconsin's current legislative maps were drawn after the 2010 census by law firms hired by majority Republicans to create the strongest majorities possible. Currently, Republicans control...

Legalization

State fiscal estimates reveal potential annual tax revenues from cannabis legalization exceeding $165 million

June 14, 2019 - The Wisconsin Department of Administration's Division of Executive Budget and Finance has released new fiscal estimates showing that if AB220, sponsored by Rep. Melissa Sargent (D-Madison) is enacted, there will be an annual increase in state revenues exceeding $165 million. https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2019/related/fe/ab220/ab220_DOR.pdf The department obtained the figures using data from the...

Medical

Closer Look: Racine County Medical Cannabis Advisory Referendum Outpolled WI Assembly Speaker Robin Vos 58%-42% In Nov. 2018 Election

June 12, 2019 - Cannabadger looked at the results of the November 6, 2018 election in Assembly District 63, home to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, and crunched the numbers, comparing the number of votes for Vos vs. votes for Racine County's medical cannabis advisory referendum. Vos' district lies entirely within Racine County, where advisory referendums on both medical and adult use cannabis appeared on all Nov. 6,...

Legalization

Illinois House passes cannabis legalization bill, sends it to Gov. Pritzker for signing.

May 31, 2019 - The Illinois House voted 66-47 after more than three hours of debate today to approve legalizing adult use cannabis. The Illinois Senate on Wednesday cleared the measure. And Gov. J. B. Pritzker says he will sign it. Here's a report from the Chicago Sun-Times: https://chicago.suntimes.com/cannabis/2019/5/31/18647398/high-time-legal... I listened to much of the debate in the House leading up to the...

Politics

Cannabadger is back online with a new post: Letter to the Editor: Gary Storck - Fitzgerald is ignoring the will of the majority on medical marijuana

May 31, 2019 - Editor's Note: Due to issues beyond our control, Cannabadger was offline for a stretch over the last few weeks. The last new article until this one was posted April 20. Thanks to the help of a good friend we were able to get back online and are now working to restore all 300+ articles published since our original launch date in March 2015. You will also notice the relaunched Cannabadger.com has a new...

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