On August 13, the Racine County Board held a first reading of the county’s proposed cannabis advisory referendum.  The resolution returns to the full board for a debate and final vote on Aug. 28, the last day to qualify for the Nov. 6 ballot,

Coming up Tuesday August 14,  the Eau Claire county board’s Administration Committee, will take up an advisory referendum proposal starting at 2:30pm at the Eau Claire County Courthouse Room 3312 Eau Claire. If approved by that committee, the referendum proposal would head to the County Board on Aug. 21 for a final vote.

In Outagamie County, the board’s Public Safety committee passed a resolution July 10 authorizing the drafting of a cannabis advisory referendum question and the proposal was due back for a vote Aug. 14. After a call to the county clerk revealed the referendum proposal was not on the Public Safety committee agenda for 8/14, Cannabadger reached out to Dan Grady, chair of the Public Safety committee who said the resolution could not get through the board’s Legislative/Audit and Human Resources committee, which meant it could not get to the full board for a vote. He said there is a lot of support among board members for medical cannabis, but some members feel the necessary due diligence has not yet been done and are unwilling to vote to approve a referendum at this point. Grady, who is a referendum supporter, said if it came up for a vote now it would fail, but that the idea will be discussed by the county’s coordinating council and then referred to the board’s HHS committee in September. He said the board may come out as a whole in favor of medical cannabis before the election. But as far as a county advisory referendum Nov. 6, Outagamie is now out of the running.

The Portage County Board meets at 5pm Thursday, August 16  in the County Board Chambers in the County-City Building, 1516 Church Street Stevens Point. Supporters are urged to attend contact their county supervisors to get the referendum over this final hurdle. The board’s Health & Human Services Committee previously voted unanimously to approve sending send the county’s advisory referendum proposal to the full county board.

In the city of Waukesha, the largest city in Waukesha County, the state’s third most populous county after Milwaukee and Dane, the city council approved a medical cannabis advisory referendum at their August 7 meeting. The referendum was proposed by District 12 alder Aaron Perry, along with fellow alders Cassandra Rodriguez and Cory C. Payne. The final vote was 7-4 with no abstentions. Waukesha is now the second Wisconsin city to do so after Racine recently became the first city to place an advisory referendum on Nov. 6 ballots. The question before Waukesha voters will be: “Should cannabis be legalized in Wisconsin for medicinal purposes, and regulated in the same manner as other prescription drugs?”

August 21 will see votes in a number of counties. At 9am, the full Langlade County board will consider the county’s medical cannabis advisory referendum proposal. The meeting will be held in the County Board Room in the lower level of the Safety Building at 840 Clermont Street in Antigo. The proposed Langlade County question is “Should the State of Wisconsin allow individuals with debilitating medical conditions to use and safely access marijuana for medical purposes, if those individuals have a written recommendation from a licensed Wisconsin physician?”

In Fond du Lac County, Supervisors Mary Hayes and Lisette Aldrich have sponsored a resolution for a county advisory referendum. The proposal will be discussed at the board’s next meeting on Tuesday, August 21 at 6pm at the City-County Government Center, Legislative Chambers, 160 S. Macy Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 54935.

If approved by the full board, the question on county Nov. 6 ballots would read:
Should cannabis: (Please select only one of the options below or your selection will be invalid)
_____ (a) Be legal for adult use, taxed and regulated like alcohol, with the proceeds from the taxes designated to provide treatment for substance addiction?
_____ (b) Be legal for medical purposes only an d available only by prescription through a medical dispensary?
_____ (c) Remain a criminally illegal drug as provided under current law?

The Forest County Board will consider a medical cannabis advisory referendum at 7pm on Aug. 21 in the County Board Room at the Forest County courthouse located at 200 E Madison St. Crandon, Wisconsin 54520. The proposed wording is: “Should the State of Wisconsin allow individuals with debilitating medical conditions to use and safely access marijuana for medical purposes, if those individuals have a written recommendation from a licensed Wisconsin physician?”

The Kenosha County board will also be voting vote on August 21, at 7:30 pm at the County Administration Building, Third Floor, 1010 56th St. Kenosha. The resolution sponsor, District 10 Sup. Andy Berg, requested the delay to Aug. 21, as he will be on military duty Aug. 7, the date of the next board meeting and he wants to be present for the final vote. The Board’s Legislative committee previously debated the advisory referendum July 17, and voted to send it to the full board by a 4-3 margin.

The proposed question to be asked Kenosha County voters is “Should the State of Wisconsin allow individuals with debilitating medical conditions to use and safely access marijuana for medical purposes, if those individuals have a written recommendation from a licensed Wisconsin physician?”

Stay tuned for Cannabadger for updates on Wisconsin city and county cannabis advisory referendums!

Previous Cannabadger coverage of Wisconsin county advisory referendums: