Senate 26 Candidate Nada Elmikashfi Position on Marijuana Reform
Office: STATE SENATOR DISTRICT 26
The 26th District of the Wisconsin Senate is located in southern Wisconsin, and is currently composed of part of the metro Madison, Wisconsin area, in Dane County. The district includes the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. (MAP)
The Senate will see a new face for the 2019-2020 legislative session as the Democrat Incumbent Fred Risser is not running for re-election. The primary election takes the job, as no Republican has filed to run in this race.
Candidate Cannabis Profile: Nada Elmikashfi, learn more about her campaign by following her on Facebook and visiting her website. Her website also has cannabis legalization as a platform item.
She answered our candidate survey about marijuana reform:
| Please indicate any marijuana-related legislation you have sponsored, co-sponsored, or publicly supported. |
| I have been vocal about my support for marijana legalization, and will fight to turn this into legislation. I have not held an elected position before that allowed me to sponsor or co-sponsor marijuana-related legislation, but once I’m a state senator, I fully intend to. The number one marijuana related legislation that I support is legalizing recreational marijuana in an equitable way by protecting the rights of those convicted of marijuana charges to enter the cannabis industry. Doing so will ensure that the benefits of legalizing marijuana are centered in the communities that were harmed the most from the criminalization of marijuana |
| Over three dozen US states and territories, not including Wisconsin, are regulating marijuana for medical and/or adult-use, despite marijuana’s federal illegality. Ending federal prohibition would alleviate the tension between these states and the US government and allow states to set their own policies free from federal interference. Do you support or oppose ending the federal prohibition of marijuana? |
| Support |
| Please provide a position statement regarding legalizing the medical use of marijuana. |
| For many Wisconsinites, marijuana is medicine. It’s legal use as medicine is a concern of public-health. Wisconsinites should have the liberty to decide what medicine is best for them. The current prohibition of marijuana forces people into paying huge fees for addictive and harmful pills and other painkillers. I am in full support of legalizing the medical use of marijuana. |
| Do you support or oppose decriminalizing the simple possession of marijuana? |
| Support |
| Please provide a position statement regarding decriminalizing the simple possession of marijuana. |
| It is past due for Wisconsin to decriminalize the simple possession of marijuana. The criminalization of marijuana is used to disproportionately arrest, jail, and incarcerate Black and brown communities across the state. Decriminalizing marijuana is a step in the right direction to ending mass incarceration and fulfilling the promise of equality to Wisconsinites of all races. |
| The prohibition of marijuana allows for the disproportionate criminalization of black and brown Wisconsinites, despite similar rates of consumption across all races and ethnicities. The impacts of marijuana criminalization are far reaching and include long-lasting collateral consequences well beyond the criminal charge. Do you support the automatic expungement of non-violent marijuana possession convictions? |
| Yes |
| Please provide a position statement regarding automatic expungement of non-violent marijuana possession convictions. |
| Marijuana possession convictions target BIPOC and lower-income communities. To work toward racial justice and economic justice in this state, we must expunge Wisconsinites with non-violent marijuana possession convictions. We must release all inmates held in prison for nonviolent marijuana charges. |
| Legalizing the responsible adult-use of marijuana provides states the opportunity to take marijuana off the street corner and place it behind an age-verified counter to better provide for consumer and public safety and prevent youth access. Taxing and regulating the adult-use of marijuana also provides economic stimulus through job creation and tax revenue. Do you support or oppose legalizing and regulating the responsible use of marijuana by adults? |
| Support |
| Please provide a position statement regarding legalizing and regulating the responsible use of marijuana by adults. |
| Right now, neighboring states are exploiting our strict legalization laws and attracting business that could benefit our state. Legalizing marijuana would bolster a new sector of the economy and bring new jobs to Wisconsin. I will introduce legislation to not only legalize cannabis but to protect the rights of those convicted of marijuana charges to enter the cannabis industry that is disproportionately serving white citizens across the country. The ratio of white to Black ownership in this new industry is nothing but a policy failure. |
On the position of marijuana reform, we have to thank Wi Eye for the candidate interviews and “marijuana” question, we had a blog article about the interviews for this seat published here.
Primary Election August 11, 2020
Other Democrat Candidates on the ballot for this seat include: Aisha Moe; Kelda Roys; Amani Latimer Burris; Brian Benford; William Henry Davis III; John Imes
Learn more about how to register to vote at https://norml.org/act/register-to-vote or MyVote.wi.gov
Learn more about requesting an absentee ballot / voting by mail at MyVote.Wi.Gov
