Madison NORML

Lakeside Press of Madison did a fantastic job creating and printing our signs from slogans and images we provided. Special thanks to Ralph. Slogans included, "Pass AB 550, The Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act", "The State of State Patients is not Good! Pass AB 550", "Allow Life with Dignity", "Some patients won't have a next session" and "Wisconsin Nurses Association supports AB 550".

Snowy road conditions delayed the arrival of Jacki Rickert, but she was still able to make it in time to talk to various legislators and media afterward. WORT Madison Community Radio did a live report with myself and an MS patient from Milwaukee, Brian, on their 6:30 news. Our signage was backdrop for tv shots.

Rep. Gene Hahn (R-Cambria), who is not seeking reelection this fall, told me and Ben Masel that AB 146, the hemp study committee bill he sponsored, was unlikely to get a floor vote this session, despite passing committee unanimously. Many bills are facing similar fates due to the few days remaining that the Assembly is scheduled to be in session.

Speaking of bills stalled in the process, medical cannabis arch-opponent/Health and Healthcare Reform committee chairwoman Rep. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa) spotted us and our signs and exchanged glances with supporters on the way in, then apparently slipped out a back exit after the speech. Jacki was hoping to for a moment to personally ask Rep. Vukmir, a nurse, why she would refuse to even hold a hearing on a bill that is so critical to the health of patients who have run out of legal options. One can understand why Rep. Vukmir would not want to see the faces of the victims of her lawblocking.

All in all, a very visible presence for medical cannabis supporters. Afterward, one of our party, cancer/AIDS patient Mary P., who uses a wheelchair, was having a cigarette outside the E. Washington entrance to the Capitol when Gov. Doyle and his entourage approached after exiting the Capitol following the speech. Mary said she had several minutes of face time with the governor, making a plea for patients like herself fighting each day for a quality of life, and reminding him he had said he would sign a bill.

The final word is that the state of state patients remains poor, and with the Vukmir blockade in place and the Assembly likely to have only a few more in session days before business ends on March 13, AB 550, the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act, is unlikely to progress out of committee this session, like prior bills dating back to 1993. 1993 was also the year Republicans gained control of the Assembly. While there have been a few defectors over the years from the GOP leadership's ideology of keeping patients in pain, most caucus members quietly go along. The leadership makes it easy for them to avoid electoral consequences by making sure no votes are ever scheduled. That way, no one can say they voted against it.

The GOP lock on the Assembly -- now down to just three seats -- has left patients forcing to choose between a law and a quality of life, if they can even find cannabis. There is no guarantee that a Democratic controlled Assembly would embrace medical cannabis legislation, but it certainly would be a lot friendlier than the likes of people like Mike Huebsch, John Gard, Scott Jensen, and preceding GOP Assembly Speakers who have all made the ultimate decision to make medical marijuana bills die without a vote, despite overwhelming public support.