The Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) is asking the governor to again put recreational and medical marijuana legalization in his forthcoming executive budget, while the State Public Defender (SDP) is separately seeking decriminalization of cannabis possession, according to an overview of state agency budget requests for 2023.
Gov. Tony Evers (D) has already pledged to put legalization in his upcoming budget, despite the GOP-controlled state legislature having repeatedly rejected similar executive requests to create recreational and medical cannabis programs.
According to the new proposal, DOR is seeking the authority to issue retail marijuana permits and levy a 15 percent wholesale and 10 percent retail excise tax on adult-use marijuana sales. The agency estimates such sales would generate annual revenues of $165.8 million for Wisconsin beginning in 2024—money that Democrats complain is lost to the illicit market and legal marijuana programs in neighboring states like Illinois.
DOR is also asking lawmakers to create a medical marijuana registry program through which qualified patients could obtain authorization to purchase cannabis from licensed dispensaries. Patients would not be required to pay taxes on those purchases. DOR’s request stipulated that a qualifying patient should be someone who is at least 18 years old and has
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