Wisconsin

Overview

Wisconsin does not have a comprehensive medical cannabis program and prohibits adult-use cannabis statewide. The state's only legal cannabis-related authorization is Lydia's Law (Assembly Bill 41, 2014), which permits possession of CBD oil for patients with physician-certified seizure disorders.

Public opinion is substantially out of alignment with legislative outcomes: a February 2025 Marquette Law School Poll registered 88% support for medical cannabis and 63% support for recreational legalization. Despite this, the Republican-controlled legislature has blocked successive Governor Tony Evers budget proposals and bills (most recently 2026 SB 1045 / AB 1061) to authorize medical or adult-use cannabis.

CBD authorization (Lydia's Law, 2014)

• Statute: Wis. Stat. § 961.32. Industrial-hemp CBD authorization for seizure conditions.
• Authorized population: patients with physician-certified seizure disorders.
• Product: CBD oil (extracted from industrial hemp; ≤0.3% THC).
• Registration: none. The law authorizes possession but creates no patient registry, dispensary licensing, or cultivation framework.
• Source of supply: retail CBD purchase or out-of-state cannabis-derived CBD.

Recreational status

Recreational cannabis is illegal statewide. Possession penalties under Wis. Stat. § 961.41:

• First offense: misdemeanor. Up to 6 months jail, $1,000 fine.
• Second or subsequent offense: felony. Up to 3.5 years.
• Manufacture / distribution: felony with penalties scaling by quantity.

Municipal decriminalization

Multiple Wisconsin municipalities have enacted local-decriminalization ordinances:

• Madison (1977 / updated 2020): civil-only penalty for possession of up to 28 g by adults 18+.
• Milwaukee (1997 / updated 2015): first-offense civil citation, $50 fine.
• Milwaukee County (2021): further reduced to $1 fine.
• Green Bay (2022): eliminated fines entirely; only court costs apply.

These ordinances operate at municipal discretion and do not override state law. State and county law-enforcement agencies retain authority to enforce state statutes within municipal boundaries.

Hemp-THC regulatory complexity

Wisconsin's hemp-derived cannabinoid market (Delta-8 THC and related compounds) operates in a regulatory gray zone created by the 2018 federal Farm Bill. State and federal enforcement of Delta-8 has been inconsistent. This is operationally adjacent to but legally distinct from the cannabis statute itself.

Patients and caregivers

Lydia's Law creates a narrow possession authorization rather than a patient/caregiver framework. There is no registry ID card, no caregiver designation, and no minimum patient age in statute.

Adults with conditions outside the seizure-disorder population have no statutory pathway under current Wisconsin law. Families seeking access for pediatric epilepsy can rely on the CBD authorization but must source higher-THC product from outside Wisconsin, with the interstate transport risk that implies.

Reciprocity and visiting patients

Wisconsin does not extend reciprocity to any out-of-state medical-cannabis program. Visiting patients carrying medical cards from Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, or Iowa receive no statutory protection at the Wisconsin border. Possession remains a misdemeanor or felony under Wis. Stat. § 961.41 depending on prior offenses. I-94, I-90, I-39, and I-43 corridors see active state-patrol enforcement, particularly at the Illinois state line where adult-use product is freely available across the border in Beloit, South Beloit, and the I-94/IL-173 crossing.

Employment and workplace

Wisconsin is an at-will employment state with no statutory cannabis protection. Employers may discipline or terminate workers for positive THC tests regardless of off-duty use. Workers' compensation may be denied for accidents where post-incident testing returns positive.

The municipal decriminalization ordinances in Madison, Milwaukee, and Green Bay do not extend any employment protection. A worker may pay a $1 Milwaukee County citation for off-duty possession and still face termination from a state-licensed healthcare position or CDL-regulated driving role. Public-employee positions and federal-contractor roles follow federal drug-free workplace rules.

Recent legislative history

Comprehensive medical-cannabis and adult-use bills have been introduced in successive Wisconsin sessions without enactment:

• 2023-2024: Senate Bill 486 and Assembly Bill 498 (medical cannabis under Republican leadership) cleared committees but did not reach floor votes.
• 2025: Governor Tony Evers included medical cannabis in his budget proposal (2025-27 biennial budget); the Joint Finance Committee removed it.
• 2026: SB 1045 and AB 1061 (medical cannabis) and SB 901 (adult-use) failed in committee.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has publicly supported a narrow medical-cannabis framework with state-operated dispensaries (rather than private licensure), an approach that has not gained Senate concurrence. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu has been the primary procedural obstacle to broader reform.

The April 2026 federal Schedule III rescheduling order produced no Wisconsin legislative response. Wisconsin's continued prohibition is notable for being surrounded by legalized neighbors: Illinois (adult-use), Michigan (adult-use), Minnesota (adult-use as of 2023), and Iowa (limited medical).

Federal context

Federal jurisdiction layers additional exposure on federal land, federal courthouses, military installations (Fort McCoy, Volk Field), and tribal land. Wisconsin includes 11 federally recognized tribal nations, and tribal cannabis policies vary. The St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin have been active in tribal cannabis governance discussions.