MADISON -- The Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act (JRMMA), Senate Bill 371 now has an Assembly companion Assembly Bill 475. The JRMMA, sponsored by State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Waunakee) and State Assembly Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison), was rolled out again at a Nov. 30 Capitol press conference. AB 475 was assigned to the Assembly Committee on Health which is chaired by Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greenfield). SB 371, the JRMMA's Senate version had previously been assigned to the Health Committee of Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa).
The Health committee vice chair is Rep. Erik Severson (R-Star Prairie). The committee has 11 members, a 6/5 GOP/Dem split. The other members are Reps. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah), Karl Van Roy (R-Green Bay), Pat Strachota (R-West Bend), Kevin Petersen (R-Waupaca), Michelle Litjens (R-Oshkosh), Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee), Sandy Pasch (D-Whitefish Bay), Donna Seidel (D-Wausau), and Chris Taylor (D-Madison).
Reps. Pasch and Taylor are JRMMA cosponsors. Rep. Pat Strachota has been an opponent of medical cannabis going back a number of years. She served on the Assembly Health committee that held a combined hearing with its Senate counterpart on Dec. 15, 2009 that drew hundreds of supporters to a packed, 8-plus hour hearing on a bitterly cold winter day.
In a Dec. 2010 Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel article, Strachota expressed skepticism: "Rep. Pat Strachota (R-West Bend) questioned how tightly the bill was written, noting the state Department of Health Services said 2.6 million state residents - or nearly half of Wisconsin's population - have medical conditions that could qualify them for the state registry. The agency estimated a much smaller number - 1,700 to 17,000 - would actually sign up for the registry based on what's happened in other states with medical marijuana laws. That is not really a narrow scope on this bill if half the citizens of the state would qualify to use medical marijuana," Strachota said."
It will now be up to committee chair Jeff Stone to decide to hold a hearing or not. Rep. Stone can be contacted via his website. Visit Who Are My Legislators to find out who represents you. Subscribe to updates to Madison NORML Examiner.
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