Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is including the proposal in his state budget as Republican state lawmakers continue to lock horns on medical cannabis reform.

The state’s 32 medical cannabis dispensaries eclipsed nine figures for the year, pushing the state’s combined sales total close to $1 billion for 2024 alone.

Rob Coupe, whose public service career spans 40 years, stepped down two weeks after awarding dispensary licenses but before the state’s sales launch.

Cultivators form a research group to investigate if intercanopy lighting can improve yields and flower quality.