WISCONSIN (NBC 26) — Republican lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday that would legalize medical marijuana in Wisconsin, saying that it's a more natural alternative to traditional pain killers. State Senator Mary Felzkowski, a Republican from Irma who sponsored the bill, shared her personal experience with prescription drugs at a news conference at the State Capitol.
“When I was 40 I was diagnosed with cancer the first time and then the second time was when I was 50 in 2014," Felzkowski said. "There were about nine months where I lived on oxycoton and hydrocodone. It was debilitating.”
Marijuana advocacy groups argue that medical marijuana reduces the number of overdoses due to addictive prescription pain killers.
"We see that states that have a robust medical program have seen overdoses decrease by 25%," said Jax James, the state policy manager for the group NORML.
While some Democratic lawmakers are glad to see Republicans supporting medical marijuana, they argue that the bill doesn't go far enough. The bill prohibits inhalants and only allows marijuana in a liquid, oil, pill or topical form.
"This prioritizes pharmaceutical companies over our farmers and our Main Streets. Not including plants and inhalants is a real miss for my Republican colleagues," said Green Bay Representative Kristina Shelton.
Felzkowski, who also introduced an identical bill while serving in the State Assembly last session, says the decision to exclude inhalants was based upon feedback from state representatives.
“They were very concerned that if people are smoking it, others in the room, mainly children, would be exposed to it," Felzkowski said. "I know that inhaling is the fastest form of absorption and that a lot of people would like that, but this was kind of a compromise.”
Marijuana advocates argue that the method of consumption is something that should be decided based on patients' needs.
“It’s important that we leave it up to the doctors and patients to decide the uptake method that would be most beneficial for that particular patient and the issue that they live with,” James said.
Representative Shelton, who supports the full legalization of marijuana, says she and other Democrats continue to receive pushback from Republicans when it comes to issues surrounding legalization. She cited a bill passed by the State Assembly last week that would create further penalties for using butane extraction to produce marijuana and the possession of resin that has been separated from the plant using butane extraction.
"Last week they voted to further create additional penalties but then they're putting this bill out this week, so it seems to me that they're talking both sides of their mouth," Shelton said.
While Republican lawmakers who sponsored the bill say it’s time to legalize medical marijuana, they stated they are not considering recreational use. You can view the full language of the bill here.
