Republican state lawmakers introduced a bill Monday to legalize medical marijuana, after previous attempts to legalize the drug for medicinal use failed.This new bill, sponsored by State Senator Patrick Testin (R, Stevens Point), Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R, Tomahawk), and State Rep. Patrick Snyder (R, Weston), requires patients to have a doctor’s diagnosis and register through a new state office. “The position on cannabis has changed dramatically in the last several years,” Testin said.Like previous attempts to legalize medicinal cannabis, patients must have a doctor’s diagnosis of a serious medical condition like cancer, multiple sclerosis, PTSD, IBS, Parkinson’s, or severe chronic pain to access medical cannabis. They then must register with the new Office of Medical Cannabis Regulation. That office would also oversee licensing for cannabis growers, processors and testers. “We want to allow private industry to come in here,” Testin said. “There are companies all across this country who have been very effective and impactful in delivering medical cannabis to patients.”A 2024 attempt by Assembly Republicans, spearheaded by Speaker Robin Vos, proposed state-run dispensaries, but the bill did not gain Senate support.”Dead is a strong word. I think it’s unlikely that it’s gonna pass this session, unfortunately,” Vos told reporters last year.The latest bill’s sponsors hope that by keeping some of the restrictions from last session’s legislation, but opening production up to the private sector, they will gain more support.”I just know my road in the Assembly will be challenging,” Snyder said. Under the new bill, patients could ingest medical marijuana through oils, tinctures, edibles, and vapors, but would not be allowed to smoke it.”I’ve had a lot of my bills kind of get delayed one session after another, and just from reading rooms now, with my experience, this is going to take a pretty gigantic Hail Mary to get all the way through. But, Hail Marys have happened,” Snyder said. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers proposed legalizing recreational marijuana in his latest budget, but Republican lawmakers quickly dismissed the idea. Wisconsin remains virtually an island in the Midwest, with all surrounding states legalizing some form of medicinal or recreational use. Currently, medical marijuana is legal in 40 U.S. states, with 25 of those also allowing recreational use.