While more states, including neighboring Michigan and Illinois, have decriminalized and legalized marijuana use over the past few years, the substance remains illegal in Wisconsin. However, more momentum may be gathering in Madison for legalization, as bills to legalize medicinal and recreational marijuana use were both introduced this past year but did not advance. Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke said that legalization is likely to happen eventually in Wisconsin. Hearings were held this spring and while there was support from members of both parties, numbers were not great enough to take action on the bills. Other lawmakers believed the bills were nothing more than an election-year strategy to get publicity with no real hope of getting them passed.
A Marquette University poll indicated that 61% of Wisconsin voters favor legalization, with even higher percentages supportive of medical marijuana, with 80% in favor. Medical marijuana is now legal in 38 states.
Marijuana Charges in Wisconsin
For now though, marijuana cultivation, possession, or sale remains illegal in Wisconsin. Currently, possession of marijuana by a first-time offender is a first-degree misdemeanor. An offender may face a maximum fine of $1,000 and a maximum jail sentence of up to six months. After your first offense, subsequent arrests for marijuana possession are charged as a felony. This charge could carry a fine of up to $10,000 and jail time of up to 3.5 years. The manufacture, delivery, or distribution of marijuana is also a felony in Wisconsin, with jail time ranging from 3.5 years to 15 years and fines between $10,000 and $50,000 depending on the amount seized.
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