The top nine Democrats vying to challenge Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in the Tuesday, August 14, 2018 partisan primary, Tony Evers, Matt Flynn, Andy Gronik, Mike McCabe, Mahlon Mitchell, Kelda Roys, Paul Soglin, Kathleen Vinehout, and Dana Wachs have all voiced support for cannabis legalization in during candidate forums around the state.
Cannabadger looked all nine top candidate's campaign websites, and as of this writing, only four of the candidates have gone the extra step of using their internet home pages to address the cannabis issue and expand on what they have publicly said about their positions. Those four are Matt Flynn, Andy Gronik, Mike McCabe and Mahlon Mitchell.
PARDONS: All four support pardoning, commuting or expunging the records of individuals convicted of cannabis offenses. Matt Flynn promises to "Pardon nonviolent offenders convicted of Marijuana possession." Andy Gronik says if elected, he will "Comprehensively review all cases involving persons with current or past convictions for marijuana-related, non-violent crimes and, when appropriate, advocate for early release and expungement of their criminal records."
Mike McCabe "supports reversing the governor's policy of refusing to consider any requests for pardons. Pardons for those who have not been convicted of any violent act or property damage should be considered and granted." Mahlon Mitchell, whose web page section on cannabis is the shortest of the four, says if he were elected Wisconsin's next governor he would "support commuting sentences for marijuana convictions.
REFERENDUM: Three of the four, Flynn. Gronik and McCabe, have each promised they would put the issue of cannabis legalization before Wisconsin voters in a statewide referendum.
CANNABIS FOR OPIOID ADDICTION: Gronik, McCabe and Mitchell's positions on their websites specifically mention the use of cannabis as a treatment to help address the ever-growing epidemic of opioid abuse and associated issues with overdoses and addiction.
OTHER MEDICAL USE: Besides cannabis as a treatment for opioid issues, three of four specifically discuss medical use of cannabis. Gronik notes "there is ample evidence showing marijuana effectively addresses a variety of medical conditions", further stating "Marijuana has proven to offer medicinal benefits for people suffering from chronic pain, cancer, anxiety, epilepsy, and many other illnesses." He foes to say, "instead of recognizing these benefits, Gov. Walker sees this differently."
Flynn's site states "legalizing marijuana will simply recognize a fact of life for many people, including the increasing use of medical marijuana by senior citizens to alleviate pain.
McCabe notes his long-term support for legalizing cannabis including for medicinal use.
Wisconsin voters who are tired of two-term Republican Gov. Scott Walker's hard-core anti-cannabis governing have a wide field of Democratic candidates supporting cannabis law reforms to choose from in 2018. While the top nine all support legalizing cannabis, that four have opted to provide voters with in-depth information adding to their public pronouncements, is a good sign that they are really serious about making it a priority if they make it through the primary and go on to defeat Walker in November.
Read the four candidates full positions on cannabis from their campaign websites:
Matt Flynn
Andy Gronik
Mike McCabe
Mahlon Mitchell