Kim Delorit Jensen (D) to challenge Joel Kitchens (R)
The Sturgeon Bay area is where Rep. Kitchens calls home and thanks to the work for field activists in the area, cannabis possession in your own home in Sturgeon Bay no longer as any penalty, civil or criminal! This comes after a great deal of work and a coalition of groups in the area pushing marijuana reform.
Right after the elections in 2018, Door County was on of the first counties to declare a supporting resolution supporting medical marijuana. The following spring 2019, Sturgeon Bay and Egg Harbor asked residents in the district about medical and recreational marijuana on a local referendum, all four referendums passed.
For being a leader in 2017 on decriminalization and sponsoring both versions of medical marijuana bills, along with the high support he is showing to constituents, Rep. Kitchens receives a grade of A- (thanks to the district for all the extra credit work they did for this rep).
The bad news is both medical marijuana bills are stuck in committee and Rep. Joel Kitchens is not a committee member.
Holds office State Assembly District 1, Link to Full Scorecard
Position on Marijuana Legalization: From 2017 Listening Sessions: Kitchens explained as long as marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, Wisconsin can’t legalize, no matter what other states have done. He said it needs to be resolved by the feds first.
“The political reality is that there’s a lot of opposition to it and it’s not going to happen in Wisconsin any time soon,” Kitchens said, adding that he believed there would never be a vote on it in his lifetime.
Position on Marijuana Decriminalization: In 2017 Rep. Kitchens was one in a group of Republicans who sponsored a decriminalization bill, this was the first time a Republican signed onto any marijuana reform legislation. Although the measure was only to decriminalize 10 grams to a $100 fine, it was a good first attempt for a newly elected Republican politician under leadership at the time.
Rep. Kitchens has not co-sponsored the 2019-20 Decriminalization (SB 577) measure to remove the penalty for possession and sale of 28 grams or less, remove the odor of marijuana as a probable cause for a search and to set up a system to expunge records of past cannabis convictions. Please contact Rep. Kitchens and ask him to support this measure.
Sponsored Legislation:
2019 AB 570 Medical with Home Grows
2019 Assembly Bill 750 Creation of a Medical Marijuana Program (no home grows / no smoking products
Contact Joel Kitchens, Email:Rep.Kitchens@legis.wisconsin.gov, Web: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/assembly/01/kitchens, Phone: 608-266-5350
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The campaign of Kim Delorit Jensen replied to us regarding her stance on marijuana reform:
Kim believes marijuana should be legalized for medical AND recreational use. She feels it’s been used to unfairly incarcerate people of color, particularly black Americans. Also, with the state facing budget shortfalls due to the pandemic, the additional tax revenues are badly needed.
The campaign of Kim Delorit Jensen received an A+ grade from NORML.
Learn more about her campaign at https://kimdeloritjensenforassembly.com/ and follow her campaign on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kim4assembly/
The 1st District of the Wisconsin Assembly is located in Eastern Wisconsin, and is currently composed of Door, Kewaunee, and portions of Brown and Manitowoc counties.
Learn more about how to register to vote at MyVote.wi.gov
Learn more about requesting an absentee ballot / voting by mail at MyVote.Wi.Gov
