Last verified: May 2026
Sen. Melissa Agard (D-Madison) — The Long-Serving Champion
Sen. Melissa Agard (D-Madison) was the legislature’s longest-serving cannabis champion, sponsoring multiple legalization bills 2013-2024. 2023 SB 486 / AB 506 (cosponsored by Sens. L. Johnson, Carpenter, Hesselbein, Larson, Pfaff, Roys, Smith, Spreitzer, Taylor) would have legalized possession of ≤5 ounces and 6 plants for personal use, with retail sales taxed and regulated, expungement, and equity grants. Failed per Senate Joint Resolution 1 on April 15, 2024. Agard moved to Dane County Executive’s office in 2025.
Sen. Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) — Current Senate Minority Leader
Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) carried adult-use forward after Agard’s 2025 departure, with Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) co-authoring 2025 SB 1045. Hesselbein at the 2025 Democratic convention: "we will also legalize cannabis."
Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton) — Senate Health Chair
Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton, Senate Health Committee Chair, nurse practitioner) held the SB 534 hearing on October 22, 2025. The committee advanced SB 534 on a 4-1 vote. Cabral-Guevara’s health-care professional credentials make her a meaningful Republican-side cannabis-policy ally. The 4-1 advancement signals committee-level openness to medical cannabis even within the Republican Senate caucus.
Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Weston) — SB 534 Assembly Companion
Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Weston) is the Assembly companion sponsor for SB 534. Snyder’s central WI district aligns with Sen. Felzkowski and Sen. Testin’s northern WI advocacy.
Rep. Jon Plumer (R-Lodi) — 2024 State-Run Dispensary Bill
In January 2024, Assembly Republicans led by Rep. Jon Plumer (R-Lodi) unveiled a highly restrictive proposal: only severely ill patients (cancer, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, MS, IBD, severe muscle spasms, chronic pain or nausea, terminal illness <1 year), no smokable forms, only five state-run dispensaries operated by DHS through a new Office of Medical Cannabis Regulation. Speaker Vos: "the most restrictive version in the entire country." Senate Majority Leader LeMahieu: state-run model is "nonstarter." Sen. Felzkowski opposed state-run dispensaries on principle. Bill died without floor votes.
Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) — 2025 SB 1045 Co-Author
Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) co-authored 2025 SB 1045 (with Sen. Hesselbein) carrying adult-use forward. Larson’s 2025 statement: legislators "too beholden to their buddies in the Tavern League" — framing the cannabis-policy delay as a Tavern League / beer-industry-lobbying outcome.
Sen. Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) — Senate President + SB 534 Lead
Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk, cancer survivor) is the Senate’s leading medical-cannabis advocate. Lead sponsor of SB 534. Northwoods home base aligns with Rep. Tom Tiffany’s 2026 R gubernatorial frontrunner geography.
The Cross-Party Coalition
Wisconsin cannabis-policy reform is unusual in that it has produced cross-party coalitions:
- Felzkowski (R) + Testin (R) + Snyder (R) lead SB 534.
- Hesselbein (D) + Larson (D) lead SB 1045.
- Cabral-Guevara (R) chairs Senate Health and advanced SB 534 4-1.
- Vos (R) and JFC (Marklein + Born, R) constrain progress.
- Tom Tiffany (R, gubernatorial frontrunner) "open to medical marijuana."
The cross-party pattern is unusual for a state with an active partisan political environment. The WI cannabis coalition has consistently been narrower than the polling support for reform (86% medical / 63% rec) but broader than partisan dynamics would predict.
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