Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Dane County State Legalization of Marijuana Referendum, Question 2 (April 2014)
| Voting on Marijuana | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Ballot Measures | |||
| By state | |||
| By year | |||
| Not on ballot | |||
|
A Dane County State Legalization of Marijuana Referendum ballot question was on the April 1, 2014 election ballot for voters in Dane County, Wisconsin, where it was approved.
This referendum question enacted a resolution that called on state legislators to pass a law legalizing marijuana in the state of Wisconsin. The referendum ballot measure was sponsored by county supervisors Leland Pan and Kyle Richmond. It was also endorsed by Nate Petreman, acting president of the Madison branch of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The measure was a non-binding, advisory vote only, which means that no legislation was directly enacted through the approval of the question.[1]
Richmond noted that 75% of Dane County residents voted in favor of legalizing medical marijuana use in a 2010 advisory question. He concluded, "The momentum is clearly in favor of decriminalization."[1]
Election results
| Dane County Question 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 41,084 | 64.5% | ||
| No | 22,575 | 35.5% | ||
- Election results from Dane County elections office
Responses
Some said that, even though it was a victory for marijuana activists, this election did not show the full power of the support for legalization in Dane County because it was held in April and had a low voter turnout, which reportedly consisted of older, more conservative voters. This election featured under 64,000 voters, while over 210,000 electors cast votes on the similar measure in November of 2010, in which the approval rating of the nearly identical advisory question was over 75 percent.[2]
Text of measure
Ballot question
The question before voters in April was:
| “ |
Should the state government enact legislation legalizing marijuana?[3][4] |
” |
Support
Supporters
The bill calling for the referendum vote was sponsored by county supervisors Leland Pan and Kyle Richmond. It was also endorsed by Nate Petreman, acting president of the Madison branch of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.[1]
Petreman said, "Put the question before the people. I urge our representatives in state government to listen to what the people say."[1]
Gary Storck of Is My Medicine Legal Yet said, "There's a tremendous buzz on this around the country. We saw tremendous excitement in Colorado when storefronts opened there January 1. So this is something people are interested in and I think the sooner we can let citizens weigh in, the better."[3]
Editorials
- The Cap Times editorial board published an article calling for the approval of this referendum in April. The editorial said:
| “ |
The Capital Times has for many years supported efforts to decriminalize and legalize marijuana. The lessons of other countries, and now other states, show that there are smart alternatives to pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the investigations, prosecutions and incarcerations that are associated with the failed attempt to impose prohibition on cannabis. In addition, we believe that legalization would address the racial disparity in arrest rates for marijuana-related charges -- and in so doing begin a broader process of criminal justice reform that is long overdue. With all of this in mind, we are enthusiastically supportive of a “yes” vote on the proposal on the April 1 Dane County ballot, which asks: “Should the state government enact legislation legalizing marijuana?” Of course it should. [4] |
” |
| —The Cap Times editorial board, [5] | ||
The editorial went on to call for voters to turn out in overwhelming numbers to approve the referendum in order to send a very strong message to state legislators.[5]
Path to the ballot
On January 9, 2014, the Dane County Supervisors voted unanimously to put the non-binding referendum question before voters.[3]
Related measures
Dane County Marijuana Advisory Question (November 2010)
Similar measures
Recreational
Washington D.C. Marijuana Legalization, Initiative 71 (November 2014)
Colorado:
Maine:
City of Lewiston Recreational Marijuana Legalization Measure (November 2014)
City of South Portland Recreational Marijuana Legalization Measure (November 2014)
Town of York Recreational Marijuana Legalization Measure (November 2014)
Massachusetts:
Michigan:
New Mexico:
Santa Fe County Marijuana Decriminalization Advisory Question (November 2014)
Bernalillo County Marijuana Decriminalization Advisory Question, Measure 1 (November 2014)
City of Albuquerque Marijuana Decriminalization Measure (November 2014)
City of Santa Fe Marijuana Decriminalization Initiative (November 2014)
Wisconsin:
Dane County State Legalization of Marijuana Referendum (April 2014)
Medical
California:
City of Santa Ana Council-Referred Medical Marijuana Regulation Ordinance, Measure BB (November 2014)
City of Santa Ana Medical Cannabis Restriction and Limitation Initiative, Measure CC (November 2014)
City of La Mesa Medical Marijuana Initiative, Proposition J (November 2014)
City of Encinitas Medical Marijuana Initiative, Proposition F (November 2014)
Nevada County Medical Marijuana Cultivation, Measure S (November 2014)
Butte County Medical Marijuana Ordinance 4075 Referendum, Measure A (November 2014)
Butte County Medical Marijuana Initiative, Measure B (November 2014)
Shasta County Outdoor Medical Marijuana Ordinance Referendum, Measure A (November 2014)
Lake County "Medical Marijuana Control Act" Initiative, Measure O (November 2014)
Lake County "Freedom to Garden Human Rights Restoration Act" Initiative, Measure P (November 2014)
City of Weed Permitting Licensing of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Advisory Question, Measure L (November 2014)
City of Weed Outdoor Marijuana Cultivation Ban Advisory Question, Measure K (November 2014)
Lake County Marijuana Cultivation Ordinance 2997 Referendum, Measure N (June 2014)
City of Imperial Beach "Compassionate Access Ordinance" Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Act (June 2014)
City of Napa Medical Marijuana Dispensary Referendum (November 2014)
City of San Jose Medical Marijuana Regulation Act of 2014 (November 2014)
See also
- Local marijuana on the ballot
- Dane County, Wisconsin ballot measures
- Notable local measures on the ballot
Articles
External links
Additional reading
- The Daily Chronicle, "Wisconsin: Marijuana Legalization to Appear on Dane County Ballot," January 13, 2014
- WKOW, "Dane County board approves marijuana question for ballot," January 9, 2014
- CBS 58, "Marijuana legalization to appear on Dane County spring ballot," January 14, 2014
- Wisconsin State Journal, "Vote 'yes' on marijuana referendum April 1 -- Gary Storck," March 19, 2014
- The Cap Times, "Dane County pot referendum passes easily: What does it mean?" April 2, 2014
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Madison.com, "Marijuana referendum could be on Dane County ballot," December 5, 2013
- ↑ The Cap Times, "Dane County pot referendum passes easily: What does it mean?" April 2, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Examiner, "Dane County votes to put pot legalization advisory referendum on Spring ballots," January 10, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Cap Times, "Vote 'yes' for legalization of marijuana," March 25, 2014
| ||||||||
