Get Active Subscribe Support Us

POT COULD SOLVE MANY STATE PROBLEMS

Thanks for the June 2 editorial, "Possession penalties are too harsh."

While any discussion about reforming Wisconsin's draconian marijuana laws is certainly welcome, decriminalization is an old idea that still leaves out a legal source for pot.

As your editorial noted, eight states have already legalized pot for adult use.  More states are currently in the process.  Our neighbors Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota, which already have medical marijuana, are all exploring legalizing adult use.

Wisconsin is ready, too.  The July 2016 Marquette Law School Poll found 59 percent favoring legal pot for adults.  Wisconsinites also have long supported medical use by even higher margins.  Yet failure to "get it done" has cost Wisconsin at lot.

While states such as Colorado, awash in new revenues from pot taxes, have been able to direct new funding to schools and other projects, Wisconsin leaders refuse to act while crying broke.  Cutting aid to schools and adding tolls to roads -- rather than saving money and gaining new revenue streams -- is irresponsible.

Our state government is at a crossroads.  Either lawmakers wake up and find the courage to look at proven solutions, or they continue the state's downward trend with the already out-of-control brain drain only exacerbating.

It's time for cannabis to be a major issue.  Voters should finally hold lawmakers accountable for holding our state back.

Gary Storck

Madison, WI