Wisconsin does not currently allow marijuana for either medical or recreational use, but that could soon change after voters in Tuesday’s elections gave control of the state legislature to Democrats while also installing a new pro-legalization governor from the party.
Gov.-elect David Crowley (D) said at a debate last month that “we have to go towards full legalization because this is opportunity that we’re missing out on as a state,” cautioning that he also wants to “make sure that we have guardrails in place” to protect children and ensure accurate labeling on cannabis products.
Meanwhile, outgoing incumbent Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) and Democrats in the state legislature have consistently pushed to legalize marijuana for medical and adult use, but have been blocked by Republican Assembly and Senate leaders.
Both chambers flipped to Democratic control in Tuesday’s elections, however, teeing up the possibility of marijuana legalization finally advancing in the state.
NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano told Marijuana Moment that “Wisconsin is among the nation’s leaders in marijuana possession arrests and it is remains one of the few states lacking significant medical cannabis access or legal protections.”
“It’s time for the Badger State to shed these dubious distinctions. Nearly seven in ten registered voters want cannabis legalized for adults and an even greater percentage support medical access,” he said. “It is high time for Wisconsin lawmakers to enact cannabis policies grounded in health, safety and compassion, and that align with voters’ sentiments. Patients and those who consume cannabis responsibly have waited long enough.”
Crowley, the newly elected incoming Democratic governor said at last month’s debate that governor of neighboring Illinois “literally thanks Wisconsin residents because they have made $30 million in in sales tax collection just from Wisconsin residents.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) quipped during his 2020 State of the State address that the state’s legal cannabis program would attract buyers from nearby states. The following year, Evers, Wisconsin’s current governor, said he is getting “tired” of hearing about Illinois’s cannabis sales figures, joking that Pritzker always “thanks me for having Wisconsinites cross the border to buy marijuana.”
Crowley, who currently serves as the Milwaukee County executive, said during the recent debate that “if we were to go to full legalization, we could bring in anywhere between $80-170 million, helping to invest in healthcare all across the state of Wisconsin without allowing our money—nor these opportunities—to go to Illinois, Minnesota or Michigan.”
He separately said earlier last month that Wisconsin should legalize marijuana to raise revenue that can be used to fund free pre-kindergarten education and an expansion of healthcare access.
Crowley’s Republican opponent in the gubernatorial election, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI), had said he supported legalizing medical cannabis but wanted to be more cautious about recreational marijuana.
A Democratic congressman who represents Wisconsin recently told Marijuana Moment that he thinks the state is poised to legalize cannabis as soon as next year—especially if his party gained control of the legislature, but perhaps even if Republicans had maintained a majority under new leadership for the 2027 session.
Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) said there’s a “really good chance” of legalizing cannabis in Wisconsin in the short term if Democrats can “flip the legislature,” where marijuana reform proposals have stalled under Republican control in recent sessions.
Evers and Democratic lawmakers have pushed to legalize marijuana for recreational and medical purposes for years, but those proposals have been blocked by the legislature’s Republican majority.
A limited medical cannabis bill did clear one committee this session, but did not advance further.
Crowley said at a forum hosted by a cannabis reform group earlier this year reform supporters “cannot wait until after the governor’s election” to push the issue, arguing that they need to “organize in making this one of the top priorities in this upcoming election.”
“If you can’t change minds, you have to change faces,” he said. “I want you all to know that we’re going to work directly with you and make sure that you have a seat at the table, because if you don’t have a seat at the table, that means you’re on it.”
Evers, for his part, recently sent a letter calling on the state’s congressional delegation to “prevent mass disruption of the hemp industry” by stopping the planned federal recriminalization of hemp THC products that’s set to take effect later this year.
The governor has repeatedly pushed for broader reform—including marijuana legalization in multiple budget requests, for example—but efforts to enact it have consistently stalled out in the Republican-controlled Assembly and Senate even as adult-use markets have come online in neighboring states such as Illinois and Michigan.
Evers said last year that if his party can take control of the legislature, the state can “finally” legalize marijuana so that residents don’t have to go to neighboring Illinois to visit its adult-use market.
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Democratic lawmakers filed legislation in the 2026 session to broadly legalize and regulate marijuana, and bipartisan legislation to simply decriminalize cannabis possession was also filed—but neither proposal advanced.
A poll released last year by Marquette Law School found that two in three Wisconsin voters support legalizing marijuana.
A legislative analysis requested by lawmakers estimated that Wisconsin residents spent more than $121 million on cannabis in Illinois alone in 2022, contributing $36 million in tax revenue to the neighboring state.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Revenue released a fiscal estimate of the economic impact of a legalization bill in 2023, projecting that the reform would generate nearly $170 million annually in tax revenue.
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