WINTROP HARBOR, IL — After years of opposition, state Republican lawmakers say they’re working on a plan to legalize medical marijuana.
Wisconsin is currently an island surrounded by states that have some form of legal marijuana.
Every two weeks, Maureen Sorensen drives from Mount Pleasant to a marijuana dispensary in Illinois to buy cannabis for her brother who's battling lymphoma, but she wishes she could also use the product for medicinal purposes.
"I've had three surgical spine surgeries and my neck is in pain constantly,” she said. “They urine test me at my pain management office and if you would test positive, they would drop you as a pain management patient and I'd be left out, you know? What would I do?"
Sorensen entered a dispensary in Winthrop Harbor Thursday that store manager Robert Phillips says was strategically opened to provide a convenient option for neighbors to the north.
"How much of your customer base is coming from Wisconsin?" TMJ4 reporter Ben Jordan asked.
"I'd say at least half or more just because we are a mile away from the border, so a lot of our customer base is coming from Pleasant Prairie, Kenosha, that area,” Phillips said.
Marijuana is fully legal for recreational adult use in Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. Meanwhile, Iowa has a medical marijuana program. All of which have state taxes on the products sold. Phillips says it’s significant in the Land of Lincoln.
"I've seen as high as 40, 42 percent tax on something going out the door,” he said.
Illinois state data shows the state made $36.1 million in taxes last year off Wisconsin residents.
It remains unknown how much money is flowing out of Wisconsin to other neighboring states as Michigan doesn’t track purchases by non-residents and Minnesota’s recreational program is brand new.
But the Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates Wisconsin would make about $166 million a year in taxes if it legalized recreational marijuana.
"Are there concerns with allowing customers to smoke or use marijuana here and then drive home afterward?” Jordan asked.
“You're given basically like a 90 minute allowance period to consume, so for an hour you can consume and then you're taking like a 30 minute cool down and then you're safe to drive basically after that,” Phillips replied.
Drugged driving is a huge concern for Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt as Republican lawmakers announce a plan that would legalize medical marijuana in Wisconsin. He tells TMJ4 the Badger State Sheriffs Association strongly opposes the legislation.
Sorensen urges those against medical marijuana to think of people like her.
“I would say really consider it,” she said. “Listen to your constituents."
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