Is weed legal in Wisconsin?

Recreational status

Recreational cannabis is not legal in Wisconsin. (Wis. Stat. § 961.41(3g) Possession)

Wis. Stat. 961.14(4)(t) classifies tetrahydrocannabinols (THC), including THC in marijuana, as a Schedule I substance, but a schedule listing alone states no penalty; 961.41(3g) is the operative possession offense. No provision in either registered source creates an adult-use exception for a person of any age.

The rule here is written about tetrahydrocannabinols rather than about a plant, so the form a product takes does not change the answer. Wisconsin's statute carves out no exception for an adult of any age.

Medical status

A medical cannabis program runs in Wisconsin, and it reaches only low-THC or CBD preparations. (Wis. Stat. § 961.32 Possession authorization)

Wisconsin has no dispensary system or patient registry. A physician's certification lets an individual lawfully possess a cannabidiol product to treat a medical condition; the certification must be no more than one year old. This is a possession authorization for a CBD product, not access to broader-THC cannabis products or a licensed medical retail channel.

The certification a physician signs here reaches possession of a cannabidiol product and stops there. Wisconsin registers no patients and licenses no dispensary, so the certification settles what you may hold rather than where you may buy it.

Hemp-derived products

Wisconsin permits the sale of hemp-derived products that meet its definition of hemp. (Wis. Stat. § 961.14(4)(t) Schedule I — Tetrahydrocannabinols)

Tetrahydrocannabinols contained in hemp, as defined in Wis. Stat. 94.55(1), are excluded from the Schedule I listing that otherwise reaches marijuana. Section 94.55(1) defines 'hemp' as Cannabis sativa L. at not more than 0.3 percent delta-9-THC on a dry weight basis, or up to 1 percent if federal law allows more; 94.55(2)(a) states that, subject to the section, a person may plant, grow, cultivate, harvest, produce, sample, test, process, transport, transfer, take possession of, sell, import, and export hemp in this state to the greatest extent allowed under federal law. Neither registered source imposes a further sale-specific restriction -- a potency cap beyond the definition, an age gate, or retailer licensing -- on hemp products themselves; 94.55 requires a license only to produce (grow) hemp, and separately bars mislabeling a hemp product or knowingly selling a mislabeled one at retail.

The exclusion turns on Wisconsin's definition alone, and no age gate and no seller's license ride on top of it. Wisconsin licenses the growing of hemp rather than the selling, and the rule it applies at the counter is a labeling rule, because knowingly selling a mislabeled hemp product is barred.

Home cultivation

Wisconsin allows nobody to grow cannabis at home. (Wis. Stat. § 961.41(1)(h) Manufacture, distribute or deliver — Tetrahydrocannabinols)

Growing even a single tetrahydrocannabinol-containing plant is manufacturing under this section: 4 or fewer plants is already a Class I felony, rising to a Class H felony above 4 plants, Class G above 20, Class F above 50, and Class E above 200 plants. No registered source authorizes cultivation by any person, medical or otherwise.

Wisconsin counts a single plant as manufacturing, so a plant count changes which felony class applies and never whether one applies. A physician's certification reaches a cannabidiol product and does not reach a plant.

Possession and purchase limits

The possession limit, as Wisconsin states it: No amount may lawfully be possessed. Possession of tetrahydrocannabinols (marijuana), in any amount, is a crime. (Wis. Stat. § 961.41(3g) Possession)

A first offense is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, imprisonment of not more than 6 months, or both; a second or subsequent offense is a Class I felony. The one narrow exception is a certified cannabidiol product under Wis. Stat. 961.32(2m)(b); see medical_status.

On buying, Wisconsin states: No amount may lawfully be purchased. Wisconsin licenses no retailer to sell marijuana or THC products in any amount. (Wis. Stat. § 961.41(3g) Possession)

There is no separate purchase-limit statute; a purchased amount is possessed, and any possession of tetrahydrocannabinols (marijuana) is a crime under this same section (see possession_limit). Hemp meeting the 0.3 percent THC definition in Wis. Stat. 94.55(1) is not tetrahydrocannabinols for this purpose and is not subject to this limit.

Zero is the figure for tetrahydrocannabinols, and hemp that clears the statute's THC line is not counted against it. The one exception written into the chapter is the cannabidiol product a physician has certified, which is a permission to possess rather than an amount.

Minimum age

There is no recreational channel in Wisconsin, so no recreational age applies. (Wis. Stat. § 961.41(3g) Possession)

There is no adult-use channel: possession of tetrahydrocannabinols (marijuana) is a crime for a person of any age, so no purchase age applies.

Wisconsin sets no minimum age for a patient. (Wis. Stat. § 961.32 Possession authorization)

Wis. Stat. 961.32(2m)(b) authorizes an individual to possess a cannabidiol product on a physician's certification without stating any age for the individual; the section names no minor, parent, or guardian provision at all.

No age appears on the medical side because the certification statute names none for the individual it covers, and it names no parent or guardian provision either. That silence is not permission to buy, because the certification authorizes possession and Wisconsin licenses no channel to sell that product.

Where you can buy

You can buy lawfully from a retailer of hemp-derived or CBD products. (Wis. Stat. § 94.55 Hemp)

Wis. Stat. 94.55(2)(a) authorizes selling hemp meeting the 0.3 percent THC definition. There is no licensed adult-use or medical dispensary channel: Wis. Stat. 961.41(1)(h) makes distributing or delivering tetrahydrocannabinols (marijuana) in any amount a felony, and Wis. Stat. 961.32(2m)(b) authorizes only possession of a certified cannabidiol product on a physician's certification, not a licensed retail channel to buy one.

The only lawful counter here belongs to a shop selling hemp, and Wisconsin has no dispensary to walk into. A physician's certification does not open a different door, because the statute that creates it creates no seller.

Wisconsin licenses somewhere to buy, and this site does not yet hold a record for any location here. The state publishes its list in a form this site cannot yet read.

Federal law applies here too, and it is not the same. Read what federal law says about weed.