Skip to main content

Top News

  • Updated

TOWN OF LISBON — Four Hamilton High School juniors were selected to attend Badger Boys State and the American Legion Auxiliary Badger Girls St…

  • Updated

PEWAUKEE — For the third year in a row, the Flags for Heroes fundraising project, run by the Waukesha Sunrise Rotary Club, will display the first round of honorary flags over Memorial Day weekend.

WAUKESHA — On May 21, a group of 29 nursing students crossed the stage and collected their Bachelor of Science degrees at UWM at Waukesha. The…

OKAUCHEE — A love for art and those who create it will form the backbone of Linda Meyer’s new business, Lake Country Art & Frame in Okauchee.

WAUKESHA — One of Waukesha’s weekend traditions is back again this summer. Friday Night Live is set to return on June 2 and every following Fr…

 

Subscribe to
The Freeman
today!

DIGITAL: JUST $10 PER MONTH
PRINT+DIGITAL: AS LOW AS $21 PER MONTH

Waukesha Freeman icon

 

A trusted news
source since 1859

Delivered Tuesday-Saturday

 

 

 

top story
  • Updated

In April of 2022, my brother Paul and I traveled to Minneapolis to attend a daylong conference sponsored by the Department of Defense’s POW/MI…

  • Updated

The Left is waging a full-fledged cultural revolution against traditional America. And the Maoist results are often as absurd as they are terrifying.

  • Updated

The time has come for the GOP-controlled state Legislature to legalize both medical and recreational marijuana.

A 2019 Marquette University Law School poll found that 83% of Wisconsin residents favored legalizing medical marijuana. A 2022 Marquette poll shows that 61% of Wisconsin residents favor legalization of recreational marijuana with majorities from both pollical party respondents polled favoring legalization.

Governor Evers proposed both measures in his most recent state budget proposal only to have them axed by a single vote in the GOP controlled Joint Finance Committee on May 2nd.

Wisconsin is surrounded by states seeing the benefits of legalized marijuana. Illinois legalized both and saw increased tax revenues and decreased crime rates. Cannabis dispensaries close to our border have drained millions from Wisconsin pocketbooks as state residents flock to Mundelein and South Beloit to buy marijuana products. Michigan also legalized, and one does not have to drive far into the UP to find a dispensary. Michigan tax revenues have also jumped from regulated sales. Minnesota just passed its legalization bill which awaits Governor Walz’ already promised signature. One can expect cannabis dispensaries along the Minnesota side of the Mississippi River will soon follow.

Meanwhile, our GOP controlled legislature continues to wage the already lost War on Drugs and continues the myth that marijuana is a gateway drug to harmful drugs like heroin, meth, and cocaine. They also appear willing to forego the tax revenues other states gladly receive from our citizens daily. Projections of potential tax revenue from legalized marijuana sales could raise enough money for Wisconsin to fully fund its obligation to our public-school systems among other needed priorities.

It is not like our Legislature doesn’t know what to pass. The new Minnesota law is a great place to start the copy and paste. It provides that adults, 21 and over, can possess up to two pounds of marijuana. Minnesotans will be able to cultivate up to eight plants on their property as soon as August 1. Over the next year a new Office of Cannabis Management will put together regulations governing the sale of recreational pot which will be taxed at 10% of recreational sales. Edibles containing THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, are already available at CBD stores there. Twenty percent of the tax revenues collected will go to cities and counties across the state.

The Minnesota plan also contains provisions expunging misdemeanor marijuana convictions and for reviewing more serious cannabis convictions. It also contains measures aimed at correcting problems created during the century of prohibition where communities of color were disproportionally targeted by drug law enforcement actions.

Many have long realized that the marijuana prohibition has done more harm than good. I was Assistant Legal Counsel for the Pennsylvania chapter of NORML, the National Organization of Marijuana Laws, and testified before that state’s legislature in support of legalized medical marijuana and limited recreational use in 1978. My criminal defense legal practice often challenged draconian marijuana laws with expert medical testimony on its safety and efficacy for certain medical conditions.. The effort to legalize is certainly not a new one.

Federal law still classifies marijuana in the same category as heroin and other far more serious drugs creating a complete disconnect in those states which have legalized marijuana. Yes, the Feds can still bust you for cannabis in states where it is legal under state laws. The Federal and state prohibitions date back to the 1920s when Harry Anslinger first convinced Congress that marijuana was the devil incarnate, leading to perversion of our youth from jazz music, free sex, and overall licentiousness. Our legislators still must think these outmoded notions hold true. Thankfully, the U.S. Department of Justice has toned down marijuana enforcement activities and the Drug Enforcement Agency is starting to look at reclassifying marijuana to reduce applicable penalties.

I was recently reminded of a story told to me by a grower friend in the 1970s. He wanted to plant a marijuana patch on his parents’ ranch in Texas. When my friend visited his folks to ask permission, his father asked, "it that stuff is as good as they say it is?" My friend replied by offering his dad a joint. After smoking it, his father retired to their front porch and sat in his favorite rocker as the sun set. My friend joined his dad on the porch where they sat in silence watching the sun go down. The father’s first comment was, "plant it."

It is long past time for Wisconsin to join the rest of the states that have legalized, regulated, and taxed recreational marijuana sales and decriminalized possession and sales.

(Waring Fincke is a retired lawyer and former guardian who lives in the Village of Kewaskum.)

WARING FINCKE

Frequently Asked Questions

The Freeman is published 5 days a week, Tues. – Sat. in both print and E-Edition formats. The E-Edition is available in a web browser version, or Apps in both the Google Play and ITunes stores. The print newspaper is delivered by the USPS (mail), and also available at local retail locations. You can view a list of these retail locations here.
Use our online Subscription Site here. You can also call 262-542-2500.
We go back 1 year on back issues of our papers. They can be purchased at our offices in Waukesha, West Bend and Cedarburg. Older issues are kept electronically. Please call for availability.
End rolls can be purchased at our Waukesha, West Bend and Cedarburg offices for $8/roll. We suggest calling ahead to reserve an end roll as they may not always be available. Waukesha – 262-542-2500, West Bend/Cedarburg – 262-306-5000.
Please use our ‘Contact Us’ form here and select ‘Advertising.’ Make sure to provide your complete contact information. If you’d like help placing your Classified Ad, our Sales Associates would be happy to help you at 262-306-5000 from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Monday-Friday. .
View more