Milwaukee County Board committee OKs pot legalization referendum proposal; sends to full board for vote

Posted: May 10, 2018 by Gary Storck
Category: Elections

The Milwaukee County Board's Judiciary committee this morning voted 5-0 to send a proposal by 16th District Supervisor John Weishan Jr. to put a cannabis legalization advisory referendum on the Nov. 6 ballot. The proposal next goes to the full County Board at its May 24 meeting, where if approved, would place the non-binding referendum before Milwaukee County voters in this fall's general election.

Cannabadger reached out to Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, Supervisor for Milwaukee County's 12th District, a vice-chair of the Judiciary committee for reaction, and here is her response:

"I believe the premises of Mr Weishan's resolution, the public interest, and community impact, means that this important issue needs to be weighed in by the public. I am happy to see that the ballot initiative has passed committee with an unanimous vote!"

Here is the question Milwaukee County voters will be asked if the full board okays the referendum May 24:

Conservatives on the committee unsuccessfully attempted to place the referendum on the August 2018 primary election ballot. If the full board approves it, the advisory legalization referendum should help attract lots of voters for the Nov. 6 general election, when Wisconsin voters will be casting votes for governor, attorney general, all 99 assembly members and half the 33-member state, along with other state officials, a U.S. Senate seat, and the state's U.S. Congress members.

If you are a Milwaukee County resident and able to attend, the vote by the full board is set for May 24, 2018 at 9:30 AM in Courthouse Room 200.