MADISON: Wisconsin Senate Bill 371 - The Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act (JRMMA) - has been referred to the Senate Health committee. Senate Health is chaired by Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa), a longtime opponent who famously refused to hold a hearing when a 2007-2008 session bill was assigned to the committee she chaired as an Assembly representative. The JRMMA was rolled out at a Nov. 30 Capitol press conference.
Sen. Vukmir also demonized medical cannabis patients in an outburst at the Dec. 15, 2009 combined Assembly/Senate health committee hearing on the JRMMA. The current Senate Health committee has five members. The vice-chair is Sen. Pam Galloway (R-Wausau), a physician and cancer surgeon. Also serving is Sen. Terry Moulton (R-Chippewa Falls) who also has a long history of opposing medical cannabis dating back to his Assembly days. Moulton and Vukmir even opposed the medical cannabis bills put forth in the 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 sessions by their colleague, then-Rep. Gregg Underheim (R-Oshkosh).
"I will refuse to put members through the circus of a hearing for a bill that is not going to go anywhere. This is nothing more than a backdoor attempt to legalize marijuana, which is not going to happen on my watch." -- Sen. Leah Vukmir, Source: Wisconsin State Journal, April 10, 2007
The two Democrats on the committee are JRMMA Senate sponsor Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Waunakee) and Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee).
Coincidentally, Galloway and Moulton are among four Republican state senators who along with Gov. Scott Walker, are the topic of recall campaigns. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who has gone on record against medical cannabis along with Moulton, is another of the recall targets.
In the 2009-2010 session, Sen. Carpenter served on the seven member Senate Health committee (4 Dems/3 Republicans) and put forth an amendment removing personal cultivation from the JRMMA. Without personal cultivation, patients would be dependent on the implementation of the bill's dispensary language. Carpenter's amendment would have left Wisconsin patients likely twisting in the wind as New Jersey patients now are. However, the bill died in committee after the remaining Democrat, State Sen. Julie Lassa (D-Milladore) joined the committee's three Republicans, Sens. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills), Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) and Ted Kanavas (R-Brookfield) in opposing the bill, effectively killing it.
SB371's Assembly companion bill should be receiving a bill number and committee assignment forthwith.
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