Frequently Asked Questions

General

The 0.3% threshold for delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was arbitrarily adopted in a 1976 study to distinguish between hemp and marijuana. While a 1% concentration of THC is considered the threshold for cannabis to have a psychotropic effect, plant variants with a higher concentration than 0.3% THC cannot be grown as hemp as the federal government considers the potential risk for drug use too high.

Legalization

Federal, State & Tribal

Federally, marijuana is a Schedule I Drug, which is defined by the DEA as “a drug with no currently acceptable medical use and a high potential for abuse.”

There is no federal legislation to deschedule, or legalize, marijuana at this time. However, in 2024, there were efforts made to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I substance to a Schedule III substance; these efforts have been halted since then.

Descheduling a substance would remove it from the Controlled Substance list. To federally legalize marijuana, it would need to be descheduled.

Rescheduling would reclassify a substance under a different schedule. In the case of marijuana, reclassifying it from a Schedule I to a Schedule III would not federally legalize it, but it could:

  • Lead to changes in manufacturing, distribution, dispensing, and possession of medical marijuana.
  • Create a pathway for FDA-approved products containing marijuana to be produced and sold.
  • Allow marijuana companies to write off expenses related to their business operations.

As of November 2024, 39 states, Washington, D.C., and four territories have medical cannabis programs, while 24 states, Washington, D.C., and two territories have legalized adult-use marijuana. This means that 246 million of the 340 million people living in the U.S. are living in states with legalized marijuana (about 72% of the population).

As of April 2025, there are 77 Tribally-owned medical dispensaries and adult-use-stores owned by 55 Tribes in 9 states. This is a 24% increase of dispensaries and stores and a 18% increase in Tribes since May 2024.  

State of Wisconsin

In the previous 2023-2024 legislative session, 26 Republican legislators (24 Assembly Representatives and 2 Senators) supported medical marijuana bills, while 35 Democrat legislators (25 Assembly Representatives and 10 Senators) supported medical and adult-use marijuana bills.

While both Democrats and Republicans are interested in marijuana legalization, the issue lies in the extent of cannabis legalization and regulation. Democratic legislators have supported adult-use legalization while Republicans are more willing to support medical legalization with restrictions. These differences have prevented marijuana legislation from being passed in previous sessions.

Medical Cannabis

Although cannabis is currently listed as a Schedule I substance, various epidemiological databases have shown that cannabis has a lower potential for abuse compared to other substances such as alcohol, heroin, or cocaine. Additionally, cannabis has a lower public health risk compared to other drugs. This is based on an evaluation of various epidemiological databases for Emergency Department visits, hospitalizations, unintentional exposures, and overdose deaths.

More than 30,000 healthcare providers are authorized to recommend the use of cannabis for more than six million registered patients. This indicates widespread clinical experience associated with various medical conditions recognized by a substantial number of jurisdictions across the United States. Based on the totality of the available data, this also indicates some credible scientific support for the medical use of cannabis.

The number of conditions and ailments for medical cannabis use varies from state to state. For example, South Dakota has less than 10 qualifying conditions while Illinois has over 50. Oklahoma, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. do not have a list of qualifying conditions; instead, they allow physicians to make determinations. On average, the qualifying number of conditions for medical cannabis use is 16.

The most common conditions and ailments that medical cannabis qualifies for include:

  • Anxiety
  • Cachexia (wasting disease), a serious complication of severe chronic conditions marked by a loss of more than 10% of body weight – including loss of muscles mass and fat – in a person not trying to lose weight
  • Cancer
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune condition that affects the brain and nervous system
  • Nausea
  • Pain
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Seizures
  • Severe and persistent muscle spasms

A 2024 review on the potential medical uses of cannabis reported that cannabis is used in the management of chronic or neuropathic pain, neurological diseases, cancer care and pain management, multiple sclerosis, nausea, appetite stimulation, and opioid reduction. Additionally, a large 2024 longitudinal investigation on the effects of cannabis use and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) reported that participants who use medical cannabis over the course of 3 months saw improvements in physical, social, emotional and pain-related health-related quality of life.

According to the FDA, there are currently three FDA-approved drugs that contain active ingredients that are related to THC in cannabis. Marinol and Syndros contain the active ingredient synthetic delta-9-THC, while Cesamet contains the active ingredient nabilone, which has a similar chemical structure to THC.

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