Sunday, July 19, 2026
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Wauwatosa business calls for lawmakers to save hemp
Gina Lee Castro
A heat wave didn't stop hemp supporters from rallying to save the industry in Wisconsin June 29. Erin Kelly, the owner of Kelly's Greens Cannabis Boutique and Cafe in Wauwatosa, hosted a "Save Hemp Rally" to raise awareness of the incoming hemp ban and pressure state lawmakers to take action.
"We're all here to ask for a state plan from the state of Wisconsin," Kelly told the crowd, which spent the evening enduring a heat index around 100. "We need to protect not only 3,500 jobs but a $700 million industry [in Wisconsin]."
Late last year, President Donald Trump signed a strict set of federal hemp regulations into law – effectively banning most hemp products sold throughout Wisconsin and the U.S. Hemp gummies, vapes and flower products – no matter the type of THC – will be limited to 0.4 milligrams of THC per container. This law goes into effect in November.
Both Republican and Democrat state lawmakers proposed bills that would keep hemp legal in Wisconsin, but none made it over the hill. Lawmakers couldn't agree on how to regulate the largely unregulated industry before the legislative session closed. State law doesn't have age restriction for hemp, set packaging requirements or require product testing.
Kelly says her cafe – along with other Wisconsin hemp businesses – will have to shut their doors in November. But Kelly hasn't given up hope.
She said lawmakers told her they’re deep in campaign season and can't pass hemp laws until January 2027. She invited Milwaukee and Milwaukee County officials, gubernatorial candidates and others running for office to the rally to develop a plan to be ready by then.
Rep. Robyn Vining, D-Wauwatosa, one of the speakers, says chief of her concerns are protecting children. She says children shouldn't be able to purchase hemp products and products shouldn't look identical to candy – an issue she's heard from the Wisconsin Poison Center. However, some hemp businesses like Kelly's Greens require customers be 21 years or older to purchase.
"Let's legalize, let's regulate and let's protect Wisconsin kids," Vining said.
Supporters say hemp is medicinal, an alternative to alcohol
If hemp becomes illegal, Andy Boinski, 35, will lose his job as a hemp sales representative. Kaytlin Lovely, 29, his partner, will lose her medicine. They hope events like this rally will challenge the stereotypes around hemp.
"People aren't using this just to get high and sit on the couch," Boinski said. "People are using these for health reasons like anxiety, pain relief and chronic illnesses."
Lovely says hemp gummies give her relief from the nausea and vomiting that comes with her Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. Her prescribed medications aren't as effective as hemp, she said.
Jake Noggle, 34, and Miranda Zielinski, 31, say Kelly's Greens hemp business brought life to a long-vacant building on West North Avenue in Wauwatosa and partnered with local businesses like Venture Brew Co.
The couple isn't a fan of drinking alcohol. Noggle says Wisconsin could stand to drink less.
"Alcohol is substantially more dangerous in overconsumption here," Noggle said. "It's nice to see an alternative."
THC seltzers, on the other hand, is one way they can still enjoy the bar scene. These drinks give them a buzz without that hangover.
"In our 30s, hangovers are not good anymore," Zielinski said. "They're like a two-day thing now."
Gina Castro is a Public Investigator reporter. She can be reached at GCastro@usatodayco.com.
Friday, June 26, 2026
Monday, June 22, 2026
Friday, March 13, 2026
37% of cannabis poisonings in Wisconsin involved children under 5
Gina Lee Castro
Most calls to the Wisconsin Poison Center about edible cannabis poisonings in 2025 involved children and teens.
According to Bre Campbell, a spokesperson for the center, 68% of the 309 calls the center received about cannabis poisonings last year involved people under 19 years old.
Children under 5 accounted for 37% of the calls. This age group often mistakes THC-infused edibles as candy and can eat multiple pieces or even the whole bag, Campbell said.
“That’s a dangerous scenario,” Campbell said.
According to Campbell, about 8% of calls related to edible cannabis resulted in patients being admitted to critical care.
Starting in November, most hemp products will become illegal nationwide due to a federal ban.
Until then, hemp products with low levels of THC are legal in Wisconsin. However, a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation that tested 30 hemp products in Wisconsin found 18 of them contained THC above the federal limit.
Among older children and teens ages 6 to 19 years old, street drugs and stimulants like THC and nicotine were the fourth most common substances involved in poisonings in Wisconsin last year.
Thirty-one percent of calls related to edible cannabis involved 6- to 19-year-olds, Campbell said.
Adults 20 years or older accounted for a similar share.
Children under 5 years old are frequently exposed to nicotine, too. About 86% of poisoning calls related to e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine in 2025 were for children under 5 years old, Campbell said.
The best thing parents and guardians can do to avoid these exposures is store these substances safely locked away and have discussions about the risks of using things like nicotine and cannabis and other drugs, Campbell said.
Contact the Wisconsin Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222 or at www.wisconsinpoison.org.
Gina Castro is a Public Investigator reporter. She can be reached at GCastro@usatodayco.com.
Thursday, February 19, 2026
Nobody knows if Wisconsin hemp products are safe or legal. So we tested them.
Gina Lee Castro
Sunday, January 11, 2026
Monday, December 29, 2025
Thursday, November 27, 2025
Monday, November 24, 2025
Saturday, November 15, 2025
Friday, November 14, 2025
THC gummies and drinks face ban under provision in government spending bill
Thursday, November 13, 2025
Monday, October 6, 2025
Saturday, September 20, 2025
Monday, September 8, 2025
Saturday, August 16, 2025
Thursday, August 14, 2025
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Milwaukee council places age restrictions on the sale of delta-8, other hemp products
Wisconsin has no age restriction on the sale of hemp products, but after an incident from August of 2024 in which two children were hospitalized after being sold "THC gummies," city officials have found a way to crack down on the sale of hemp-derived THC products.
Common Council members backed a proposal July 15 to restrict the purchasing of hemp-derived products to anyone under 21 years old.
Those include products with names such as delta-8 and delta-10 — chemical cousins to marijuana. The legislation does not apply to "any non-intoxicating cannabinoids," including CBD.
To hold establishments accountable, anyone violating the ordinance would receive a citation ranging from $400 to $1,000. They could also be prosecuted for the offense.
An investigation last year by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Examination and AL.com found the products are causing a sharp rise in reports of children and adults getting sick. Those findings are alarming doctors and public health researchers.
Such products can be traced to Congress' legalization of the sale of hempdelta-9 and products extracted from it in the 2018 Farm Bill. Hemp is a type of cannabis plant with low levels of the psychoactive compound that gets people high, known as delta-9 THC.
A city committee voted unanimously to support the legislation earlier this month, and now that Common Council backed the potential ordinance, Mayor Cavalier Johnson would need to sign off before it can be enacted.
Monday, July 7, 2025
Milwaukee council committee backs regulating chemical cousins to marijuana, including delta-8
Alison DirrSophia Tiedge
It was August 2024 when two kids arrived at Children's Wisconsin, having snacked on newly purchased gummies before the woman caring for them realized what they had eaten was not an innocuous sugary candy.
As the children wandered through a convenience store while the woman shopped, they were munching on what was later described as "THC gummies."
She told police the candy looked just like what they normally got in grocery stores, down to the Trolli branding. When she realized what they were eating, she took them directly to the hospital.
The store clerk told police he gave the candy to the woman after she purchased it, though surveillance video showed the clerk getting the gummies from under the counter and handing them directly to the two children, according to a Milwaukee police report.
Alderperson JoCasta Zamarripa was alarmed that police could not issue a citation because there is no age restriction in Wisconsin for hemp products, including on the sale of those that can get users high.
"The truth is that he was within his rights to hand those gummies to a child," Zamarripa said of the clerk on May 20, when the store owners came before the Common Council's Licenses Committee, which she chairs.
Manwinder Singh Bhagat, one of the owners of Rama Foods, 6730 W. Villard Ave., told the committee he believed there was a miscommunication. The employee had been fired, he said, and the store sells such products only to people over 21, as listed on some of the packages.
Now, council members led by Zamarripa and Alderman Peter Burgelis want to see that minimum age become more than optional in Milwaukee.
"There was no violation of city ordinance or state law; it is wholly unregulated," Burgelis said during a July 3 meeting of the council's Public Safety and Health Committee. "This ordinance will fix that and give an age restriction to these products."
Milwaukee council members seeking minimum age for delta-8, other hemp derivatives
Council members have put forward legislation to prohibit selling or providing hemp-derived THC products to anyone under 21 years old.
Those include products with names such as delta-8 and delta-10 — chemical cousins to marijuana. An investigation last year by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Examination and AL.com found the products are causing a sharp rise in reports of children and adults getting sick. Those findings are alarming doctors and public health researchers.
Such products can be traced to Congress' legalization of the sale of hemp and products extracted from it in the 2018 Farm Bill. Hemp is a type of cannabis plant with low levels of the psychoactive compound that gets people high, known as delta-9 THC.
The city legislation would carry fines of between $400 and $1,000.
It does not apply to "any non-intoxicating cannabinoids," including CBD.
The committee backed the ordinance, which is expected to go to the full Common Council for a vote at its July 15 meeting.
Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com.
From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2025/07/07/milwaukee-council-committee-backs-regulating-delta-8/84430410007/
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