6th Congressional Candidates Cannabis Scorecards

NORML is pleased to announce the release of our 2020 Candidate Scorecard. This extensive database assigns a letter grade ‘A’ through ‘F’ to states’ to elected officials. They have added a module for the upcoming elections in 2020.

We are proud to release the ‘scorecards’ of the candidates in the 6th Congressional race. Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District includes Columbia, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Manitowoc, Marquette, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, and Waushara counties. Three (3) Democrats will face a primary election August 11, 2020. The winner goes onto to face Incumbent Republican Glen Grothman.

Up first, our three Democrat candidates in the August 11th Primary Election:

Matt Boor attended a NORML meeting in the winter of 2019, addressing the need for federal marijuana reform. He indicated early on that he would immediately join the federal Cannabis Caucus and champion marijuana reform as an elected official. He mentions marijuana reform in news articles and when addressing the public.

Biography: Matt Boor is an executive in business development in Manitowoc, WI. In his early career, he worked as a project manager and technical advisor in wind energy projects across the US. His expertise in the field led him to take over the Wind Energy Technology program at Lakeshore Technical College before transitioning to his current position in the private sector. Matt has an MBA from Marquette and a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from DePaul University. Although he is new to running for public office, he believes Wisconsin’s 6th District is ready for new leadership from a new type of candidate.

Position on Marijuana Legalization: Adults should be permitted to make their own decisions regarding their responsible use of marijuana. I support legalizing the medical use of marijuana on the federal level.

Position on Marijuana Decriminalization: I support decriminalizing simple possession of marijuana. Once decriminalized, nonviolent marijuana possession convictions should be forgiven/expunged.

Position on Medical Marijuana: Supports

Full Candidate Scorecard

Campaign Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Boor6thCD/

OR

Beardsly lives and works in Oshkosh with my wife, Megan, and dog, Coach. They have called Oshkosh home for 8 years and have grown up in the Fox Valley their entire lives. Michael grew up in rural Freedom, WI before graduating from UW – Oshkosh with a business degree in Information Systems, which lead him to where he is today. He works as an IT Consultant for a global company with clients all over the world.

His views on cannabis reform:

Fully legalize for recreational use and remove penalties for possession
Record expungement
Support the SAFE Banking act to allow state-licensed marijuana businesses to have access to banks and financial institutions
Will join the Cannabis Caucus
Support medical marijuana use and research
Provide agricultural biodiversity and increased tax revenue for marijuana and industrial hemp

The candidate has marijuana reform bullet points under his criminal justice reform section of his website: Marijuana record expungement and decriminalize to de-prioritize their enforcement.

View the full candidate scorecard

Campaign Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelgbeardsley/

Campaign Website: https://www.beardsleyforcongress.com/

OR

King is a former Oshkosh Common Council member and Deputy Mayor, as well as Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Senate, representing District 18 from August 2011 to 2013. She did not author, co-author, co-sponsor any legisaltion at the state level to reform marijuana laws in Wisconsin.

Biography: My family has called Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District home for 5 generations. My grandfather was a machinist in Fond du Lac, and I come from a long-line of dairy farmers. I spent some quality time as a teenager running grain sweeps and working in scale houses. These experiences helped build my work ethic.

I graduated from St. Mary Springs High School at 17 and worked 3rd shift at a manufacturing plant in Rosendale, WI. Working in a factory gave me the inspiration to attend a University of Wisconsin Oshkosh preview day, and I decided to pursue a college degree. I was fortunate to have received GI Bill benefits from my parents along with PELL grant assistance and federal work study benefits. I know just how important community support matters in our society.

Position on Marijuana Legalization: 2020 Candidate Questionnaire: I believe states should be able to craft the legislation that allows for personal possession and private use for those over the age of 21. I believe states should have the ability to tax and regulate cultivators through the supply chain to dispensary sales. I believe communities should have the ability to prohibit use based on public place, such as streets or parks, in any motor vehicles, on school grounds, with the exception of medical users, etc. I would like to see simplified regulation to ensure that Wisconsin farmers are able to grow cannabis to build a local and regional supply chain to expand the rural economy.

Position on Marijuana Decriminalization: 2020 Candidate Questionnaire: I support the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act (HR 3884 / S. 2227) that removes marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, thus decriminalizing the substance at the federal level and enabling states to set their own policies. The bill would also retroactively allow for federal expungement of all past and pending convictions for marijuana possession. Under the MORE Act, landlords and employers would be prohibited from discriminating against a potential tenant or job applicant based on their criminal record involving marijuana.

Position on Medical Marijuana: 2020 Candidate Questionnaire: I believe that marijuana has a viable medical use and should not be included in Schedule 1. I would support legislation allowing physicians the ability to prescribe marijuana as a medically necessary treatment option. Physicians should be able to determine the level of THC necessary for treatment of medical conditions based on a person’s history, along with the intensity and severity of their illness.Comments

Campaign Website: I support removing marijuana from the U.S. DEA’s schedule 1, increasing the allowable THC content of industrial hemp to 1 percent, and adopting policies and regulations that ensure the market for cannabis is accessible to family farmers.

The current administration is creating unfair advantages for large companies and monopolies instead of favoring small business farmers.

Further, it’s time to allow cannabis and cannabis-related businesses that are state regulated to have access to the normal banking system.

Full Candidate Scorecard

Campaign Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessicaKing6th/

Campaign Website: https://jessicakingforwisconsin.com/

VS

Glenn Grothman is a proponent for hemp and its ability to help agricultural areas of Wisconsin, but is against recreational marijuana.

Co-sponsored Negative Legislation: H.R.2331 – No Welfare for Weed Act of 2015 (2015-2016)Comments

“It sounds OK to say we ought to make marijuana legal, but as you make marijuana legal you have more people living I guess what I’ll call a marijuana lifestyle. I would suggest when you go home you Google Colorado and you Google homelessness and see what you come up with.”
12/21/17

“Industrial hemp plays a large role in Wisconsin’s agricultural history, and legalizing it now will only benefit Wisconsin,” said Grothman. “Non-narcotic industrial hemp makes our economy stronger by providing an additional revenue stream for farmers, and is useful in other areas like construction and manufacturing.”
4/29/17

“In Colorado there’s a huge number of homeless people out there, it sounds okay to say we ought to make marijuana legal, but obviously as you make marijuana legal you have more people living what I would call the marijuana lifestyle.” 11/27/17

Votes:

2019: The SAFE Banking Act, HR 1595: Yes

2019: Blumenauer/McClintock/Norton Amendment to Protect Legalization: No

2016: Veterans Equal Access Amendment: Yes

2015: Rohrabacher/Farr Amendment to Protect Medical: Yes

2015: McClintock/Polis Amendment to Protect Legalization: No

Full Candidate Scorecard

Campaign Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glenngrothman/

Campaign Website: https://www.glenngrothman.com/