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Wisconsin Senate GOP Leaders Say Assembly Bill To Create State-Run ‘DMV For Medical Marijuana’ Is A ‘Non-Starter’

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Top Republican Wisconsin senators are already signaling that a newly unveiled bill from their Assembly GOP colleagues to create a strictly limited medical cannabis program may be a “non-starter”—especially as it concerns its novel proposal to have state-run dispensaries that the Senate majority leader is critically comparing to a “DMV for medical marijuana.”

Just days after Wisconsin Assembly Republicans held a series of press conferences across the state to announce their much-anticipated plan to legalize medical cannabis, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R) and Senate President Chris Kapenga (R) are tempering expectations, raising concerns on behalf of their chamber’s caucus about specific provisions and the broader thrust of the Assembly legislation.

Conservative Assembly lawmakers have proudly proclaimed it would create the “most restrictive” medical marijuana program in the country, with bans on smokeable products, a limited list of qualifying conditions and just five state-run dispensaries.

It was already a question whether the state’s Democratic lawmakers and governor who have pushed for comprehensive adult-use legalization would go along with the proposal, but now a more pressing question is whether the GOP Senate will support it.

LeMahieu, the majority leader, said on Thursday that the state-controlled dispensary plan is a “non-starter for

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Senators Push VA To Create Medical Marijuana ‘Standard Of Care’ As Rescheduling Process Finishes

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A group of nine U.S. senators is calling on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to “expeditiously” develop a standard of care for veterans using medical marijuana and allow the department’s doctors to recommend cannabis to patients in light of the Biden administration’s proposal to reclassify the drug.

In a letter led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) that was sent to VA Secretary Denis McDonough on Friday, the coalition said that the Justice Department’s proposal to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) necessitates a reevaluation of the department’s own marijuana policies.

This comes just a week after a Senate committee approved a relevant amendment to a large-scale spending bill sponsored by Merkley that would allow VA doctors to discuss and recommend medical marijuana to patients living in legal states.

Given that the administration is moving to reschedule cannabis, “we urge the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) to expeditiously produce a VA-approved standard of care for medical cannabis,” the senators wrote. “We also strongly recommend issuing clear guidance allowing and preparing Veterans Health Administration (VHA) providers to discuss, recommend, and assist patients in qualifying for enrollment in state-legal medical cannabis programs following

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Bipartisan Lawmakers Seek To Remove Marijuana Rescheduling Ban From Key Spending Bill

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Bipartisan congressional lawmakers are seeking to remove a controversial section of a spending bill that would block the Justice Department from rescheduling marijuana—one of several cannabis- and psychedelics-related amendments to appropriations legislation that have been filed in recent days.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) announced on Wednesday that she introduced the amendment to strike the rescheduling restriction that’s currently included in the 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) spending bill.

In a video filmed with cannabis lobbyist Don Murphy at the Republican National Committee (RNC) convention, Mace said that “we want to make sure rescheduling happens,” even if her preference would be to fully deschedule marijuana as would be accomplished under her States Reform Act.

“We’re doing all we can,” the congresswoman said.

If you think #cannabis (Schedule 3) isn’t being discussed on the floor of the RNC convention, you’d be wrong. @RepNancyMace pic.twitter.com/qAiaU3226e

— Don Murphy (@donmurphy12a) July 18, 2024

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) also introduced an amendment to the CJS measure that would similarly strike the scheduling restriction section, which was adopted by the House Appropriations Committee earlier this month. That GOP-led panel also rejected a separate amendment to remove the section.

GOP senators have separately tried

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DeSantis’s Marijuana Opposition Campaign In Florida Raises Just $10,000 As Pro-Legalization Committee Rakes In Tens Of Millions

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) recently launched political action committee opposing a marijuana legalization ballot initiative has so far raised only $10,000—just 1/6,000th of the amount of money that’s poured into the effort to pass the cannabis measure.

As of last week, the DeSantis “Florida Freedom Fund” has only raised $10,000 in contributions—all coming from a former Republican congressman representing Pennsylvania, campaign finance records from the Division of Elections records show. By contrast, the Smart & Safe Florida campaign behind the marijuana initiative has raised over $60 million.

Of course, the PAC founded by the governor only launched in May, whereas the cannabis campaign has been active since late 2022. Even so, the early numbers seem to signal a lack of enthusiasm among prospective donors about supporting the effort to derail marijuana legalization, as well as an abortion rights proposal that the DeSantis committee is also seeking to defeat.

Former U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus (R-PA), the DeSantis committee’s sole donor—voted against numerous amendment in Congress to shield state marijuana laws from federal interference. He also opposed measures on cannabis banking and to allow Department of Veterans Affairs doctors to recommend medical marijuana.

The campaign finance data was first reported by

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