MADISON — Medical marijuana will not become legal in Wisconsin next year or anytime soon, despite broadening support, the state Assembly's top Republican — himself an advocate for legalization — said Thursday.
“It's going to take a while,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday. Finding consensus on the issue is difficult because of varied concerns from other Republicans, members of law enforcement and the medical community, Vos said.
“It's
not like it's a panacea that everybody thinks, ‘Oh, jeez this is an
easy slam dunk,’” Vos said. “It's a complicated issue that we
want to get right.”
Vos
said he believes progress is being made, noting that support has
grown among Assembly Republicans from him and one other lawmaker to
now almost half of the 63-member GOP caucus. However, Senate
Republicans remain opposed. A bill must pass the Senate and Assembly
and be signed by the governor before becoming law. Democratic Gov.
Tony Evers supports legalizing medical marijuana.
Vos
has supported medical marijuana for years and there are bipartisan
efforts to change the law this year, including for the first time a
bill co-sponsored by Republicans.
Vos
defended not being able to get a bill passed despite his support.
“There's
nobody who can say I'm not in favor of this idea,” Vos said. But
putting together the support needed to pass a bill takes time, he
said.
Democrats
have long supported legalizing medical marijuana and have used the
issue as a campaign issue against Republicans. Assembly Democratic
Minority Leader Gordon Hintz accused Vos of having token support,
saying he only speaks in favor of it because polls show a majority of
Wisconsin voters are for it.
“There
seems to be at least the recognition of members about how out of
touch they are with where the public is and where good public policy
is,” Hintz said in an interview this week.
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2 comments:
“It's a complicated issue that we want to get right.”
What horseshit. Neighboring states have no problem with legalizing weed, but the cavemen in Madison are against it.
Robin Vos - an Adulterous Asshole.
Hey VOS - GO FUCK YOURSELF!
Vos is a Fascist PIG.
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