Gov. Evers’ budget bill looks to legalize marijuana sales

NORTHEAST WIS. – As Wisconsin’s agriculture industry looks for innovative ways to sustain farming amid consolidation, Gov. Tony Evers hopes to pave the way for a marijuana industry in the state.

Evers’ budget bill includes future legal marijuana sales, estimated to generate $58.1 million in new state revenue in fiscal 2026-2027, the first year of sales.
In Michigan, adult-use recreational marijuana sales totaled over $10.2 billion in 2024, with marijuana deliveries generating about $4.3 million, according to Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency. Medical marijuana sales in Michigan totaled $1.6 billion in 2024, according to state data. The state collected taxes and fees of $331 million for the state’s Marijuana Regulation Fund in 2024, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury.

In public remarks made on March 26 at the Wisconsin Farm Bureau’s Ag Day, Wisconsin State Sen. Howard Marklein, a Republican from Spring Green, criticized Evers’ budget bill for including policy that should be carved into separate bills, including a proposal to legalize marijuana sales.

Reached by phone, John Pagel of Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy in Coleman speculated some Wisconsin farmers would likely be interested in growing marijuana. “I do know of farmers that have been growing hemp to make CBD. That became popular about five years ago,” he said.

“If marijuana gets legalized, there will be people who will jump on the bandwagon,” Pagel said.

Marklein didn’t oppose or support marijuana sales, but said it would be better if Evers’ marijuana legislation were considered on its own than as part of the massive budget bill.

“The governor proposed a budget that spends a little bit of money. The increase is over 20% over the current year. There aren’t too many people in the state of Wisconsin that had that increase in spending,” he said.

In fiscal 2024, state operations spending increased 22% to $5.6 billion, representing 25% of General Purpose Revenue, up from $4.6 billion in fiscal 2023. General Purpose Revenue increased 18% to $22.3 billion in fiscal 2024, not including $1.9 billion in transfers.

Evers’ proposal for marijuana in the future doesn’t mention growing a marijuana crop, but it does allow it to be sold. The proposed policy states:

“Legalize, regulate and tax the sale of marijuana for recreational use, much like Wisconsin already does with alcohol, if it is sold by a retailer holding a permit issued by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, resulting in $58.1 million in revenue in fiscal year 2026-27 and growing amounts in future years. Additionally, create a process for individuals serving sentences or previously convicted of marijuana-related crimes to have an opportunity to repeal or reduce their sentences for nonviolent minor offenses.”

In Michigan, where 56% of voters approved a proposition to legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older in November 2018, marijuana has blossomed into a $1.6 billion industry, according to state data.

The state receives revenues from a 10% adult-use marijuana excise tax at the register and other fees. The fund is used for state allocations to municipal and county governments, schools, tribes, roads and bridges.

In February, Michigan distributed about $100 million to municipalities with licensed marijuana retailers and their respective counties. The amount the local governments receive is determined by the number of licensed marijuana retailers, with the state allocating $58,229 per retail license to the local municipality and an equal amount to the respective county.

In 2024, the state provided $407,600 to the City of Menominee, which allows for marijuana sales at retailers holding marijuana licenses, and the same amount to Menominee County.

This decision hasn’t been without controversy. Litigation over the way the city awarded the first few retail marijuana licenses has stretched on for years. The city’s decision to open the market didn’t satisfy those who had applied for a retail license in 2020 or 2021 with the understanding the market would be limited to those retailers awarded licenses in 2021.

Where to put all of the interested retailers has raised other issues, with some saying a location approved years ago for the corner of 10th St. and 10th Ave. in Menominee isn’t safe or appropriate.

Marijuana sales and crops also are legal in Illinois, where the state’s Cannabis Business Development Fund provides financial resources for business startups to offset licensing fees. It also includes low-interest loans to cannabis businesses, including growers. Illinois’ law, passed in 2019, automatically expunged convictions of up to 30 grams of marijuana and allowed those with convictions involving 30 grams to 500 grams to petition the court to vacate the conviction.

In 2024, Illinois dispensaries sold over $2 billion of cannabis product, up 2.5% from 2023, with adult-use recreational marijuana sales rising 10% to $1.7 billion, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office said.

In Minnesota, a limited amount of recreational cannabis use and possession is legal for those 21 and older on private property and in some public places that allow it. A 2024 statute also provides for CanGrow, a program to award grants to organizations to help farmers understand the highly regulated legal cannabis industry.

Besides marijuana, Evers’ proposed budget includes proposed PFAS sampling and remediation funds for farmers and other landowners.

The budget seeks to address contaminations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) with $120.7 million in segregated revenue and $2 million in General Purpose Revenue. This includes more assistance with cleanups and an innocent landowner exemption to the Spill Law, including for “farmers who unknowingly allowed the spreading of biosolids containing PFAS on their land, from having to cover the cost of cleaning up the PFAS contamination.”

The state would provide funds to sample biosolids and clean up lands receiving the innocent landowner exemption. The budget also includes $5 million for private well owners and a County PFAS Well Testing grant program for private well owners.

To ensure proposals related to the Chemical Level Enforcement and Remediation (CLEAR) Act don’t get hung up in the legislature, Evers is proposing an exemption to the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act for “administrative rulemaking that seeks to set enforceable standards for PFAS,” including in biosolids spread on land. Farmers would be required to sample biosolids for PFAS.

Evers wants to increase by $1.8 million funds the Department of Natural Resources uses to provide emergency drinking water to homes with contaminated drinking water. He wants to add $5 million to the state well compensation program and create a County PFAS Well Testing grant program for private well owners.

If the budget were to be approved as proposed, the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer protection would receive an additional $10 million in bonding for county grants, such as cost-share grants to landowners through the Soil and Water Resource Management Program. The Department of Natural Resources would receive a $10 million increase in bonding for county grants for capital projects related to the Targeted Runoff Management Program. This program would receive $400,000 in segregated revenue for noncapital projects.