MADISON: With the elections having set the state and national political landscape for the next two years and beyond, politics has gone into a temporary lull as the winners and losers prepare for the New Year. With the holidays now upon us, even the flurry of Wisconsin localities passing ordinances banning K2 or “Spice” has settled down. A statewide ban is already on the agenda for the new legislature. It is just one of a very few bills that will see much bipartisan support in the coming session in Wisconsin. Today, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration also announced plans to “temporarily control five chemicals (JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, CP-47,497, and cannabicyclohexanol) used to make “fake pot” products.”
Wisconsin’s brain drain is certain to accelerate once the full effects of the coming changes at the Capitol begin to be felt. Governor-elect Walker campaigned on a platform that included killing a planned high-speed rail line in Wisconsin that would have brought close to a billion dollars in federal money to the state. Not only would this have launched new service beginning with a Milwaukee-Madison leg, it would have created new jobs and upgraded rail infrastructure used by freight trains too. Losing this project is a blow the state will likely never recover from instead of the once in a lifetime opportunity that would have made Wisconsin a leader. And although the project once had wide Republican support too, that evaporated in a wild spree of flip-flopping to support Walker’s candidacy.
Once the new legislature takes office in early January, with a 60-38-1 GOP majority in the Assembly and a 19-14 majority in the State Senate, expect a flurry of pent-up “conservative” issues to surface and quickly be passed into law including voter ID, concealed carry, cutting state employee benefits, cutting the Badger Care health care program and similar issues.
An estimated $3.3 billion budget hole will further decrease Wisconsin’s quality of life with thousands of state jobs likely being eliminated. For state workers who can hang on, furloughs will depress wages. The Walker years will not likely in many new opportunities for ordinary Wisconsinites. Killing the train killed the development and jobs that would have multiplied out of the project. For Walker, it’s an interesting way to achieve his campaign promise of creating 250,000 Wisconsin jobs.
MADISON: In it’s endorsements before the Nov. 2 general election, the Sun Prairie Star had this to say about the Dane County Medical Marijuana Referendum, urging a No vote:
Legalized Marijuana Referendum – The advisory referendum asks if the state Legislature should enact a law allowing residents with “debilitating” medical conditions to acquire and possess marijuana for medical purposes if “supported” by their physician.
This question has already been dealt with by the Legislature, which failed to enact it. This is just another effort by high-minded (um, no pun intended) individuals on the county board to circumvent the legislative process to right another in a long list of perceived injustices.
We wish the county board would stick to the county’s business. Vote NO on the county medical marijuana referendum. — “Our View: Endorsements We endorse Walker, Lee, others and make our referenda statements too,” Sun Prairie Star, Oct. 21, 2010.
Sun Prairie voters loudly disagreed with the Star’s tirade, instead voting 2/1 to support the medical marijuana referendum. The Star website’s own online poll showed support of 62% to 48% as well.
The entire county went 3 to 1: 75.49% YES, with 159,408 YES votes being cast.
MADISON: On Sunday Nov. 7, from 3-7pm, Madison’s High Noon Saloon will be the location of a “Post-election Victory Party & Benefit,” hosted by the Madison chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). The event, a celebration of Tuesday’s landslide victory for the Dane county Medical Marijuana Advisory Referendum, will feature live music, speakers and NORML vending.
High Noon Saloon
701 E Washington Ave # 101
Madison, WI 53703-2958
(608) 268-1122
While the referendum was advisory and non-binding, it gained nearly 160,000 Yes votes in winning with 75.49% of the vote, outpolling every candidate. Support was strong across the county, no matter which candidate’s voters were favoring. A sister referendum in River Falls prevailed with 68% of the vote.
The twin referendums represented the first time ever that any Wisconsin voters had been asked their opinion on medical cannabis, and voters were glad they asked with 3 of 4 saying Yes.
The celebration begins with Madison’s David Sewell leading off with a short set of acoustic music. Sewell, a fixture in front of the Willy St. Natural Foods Coop, is departing soon for warmer climes in California, and his appearance will be one of his last before he departs.
MADISON: On a night when it seemed little could go right for progressive candidates and incumbents, the Dane County Medical Marijuana Advisory Referendum exceeded expectations, garnering a final total of 159,408 votes – 75.49% of the total cast. In River Falls, where Alder Bob Hughes worked to get the city’s MMJ Advisory Referendum rolling, the final was Yes by over 68%.
As expected, vote totals for the referendum surpassed those of candidates running on the same ballot. It also did very well in traditional Republican-leaning wards. For example, in the six Dane County wards of current State Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Beaver Dam), the Senator was outpolled in each, demonstrating that medical cannabis support transcends partisan politics.
0001 T ALBION WDS 1-2 527/340
0008 T CHRISTIANA WDS 1-2 311/270
0012 T DEERFIELD WDS 1-2 452/345
0043 V CAMBRIDGE WDS 2-3 379/288
0047 V DEERFIELD WDS 1-4 626/413
0065 V ROCKDALE WD 1 66/51
What do these victories mean in light of the reshuffling of the Wisconsin governmental deck? Come January, Wisconsin will have a Republican governor in Scott Walker, who has so far been hostile to medical marijuana. Attorney General JB Van Hollen is returning for another term. Van Hollen sent his deputy to oppose the JRMMA at its hearing. Control of both houses of the State Legislature has shifted to the GOP, and arch-medical marijuana opponent Leah Vukmir succeeded in toppling State Sen. Jim Sullivan (D-Wauwatosa) and moving up to the State Senate, where she will likely chair a Health Committee. Will the medical marijuana victories even be noticed in the GOP landslide? Will this mean Wisconsin’s medical marijuana brain drain becomes a brain hemorrhage?
We’ll be taking a deeper look tomorrow….
