Republican state senators have reached a deal on a proposal making it legal in Wisconsin to possess a marijuana extract used to treat seizures.

A similar bill failed to pass last session despite widespread bipartisan support when Republican senators derailed the proposal amid concerns it would open the door to legalizing marijuana.

Republican Sen. Leah Vukmir was one of those who opposed the measure, but her spokeswoman Jessica Ward said Thursday she has agreed on a new version and is working with Sen. Van Wanggaard on advancing it.

Wanggaard spokesman Scott Kelly said he is confident the measure will have enough support to pass. The bill is expected to be one of the first introduced this session.

As voters legalize weed across the country, doctors groups still voice serious doubts about its medical value.

Voters in three states approved new medical marijuana initiatives on election day, and the majority of Americans now live in states where pot has been legalized in some form. But despite the growing public acceptance of medical marijuana laws, one group remains notably skeptical: doctors.

Ben Kollock was a kid when he learned an important life lesson from the cartoon character Captain Planet: If he sees an injustice in the world, he should do something about it.

Kollock sees an injustice in Stevens Point, and he’s following the lessons he learned from superheroes, the Stevens Point Journal reported. The 28-year-old wants the city to reform its policies surrounding marijuana possession to keep people caught with a small amount of the drug out of the criminal system.

The controversial Mystic plant-research site that Monsanto Co. plans to shut down this year has drawn the interest of two groups looking into using the modern facilities for growing medical marijuana, First Selectman Rob Simmons said Monday.

Simmons' revelation came soon after a state website indicated that Monsanto had issued a formal notice of the closure, which will occur in two phases starting Oct. 29. The shutdown, announced last year, will result in the loss of 40 jobs locally, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification dated Aug. 29 and released Monday to The Day by the state Department of Labor.

"Fact #1: Legalizing marijuana is bad for the workplace."

That's the stark warning from the Institute for a Drug-Free Workplace, a nonprofit that works to combat drug use among American employees.

"The impact of employee marijuana use is seen in the workplace in lower productivity, increased workplace accidents and injuries, increased absenteeism, and lower morale," the institute writes. "This can and does seriously impact the bottom line."

Does it really, though?

Last week, state legislators put Illinois on track to become the 21st state to decriminalize cannabis.

If Governor Bruce Rauner signs the bill – and he’s said he likely will – residents would no longer face up to 6 months in jail and a fine up to $1,500 or getting caught with between 2.5-10 grams of marijuana.

Instead, They’ll be ticketed between $100-$200 per offense.

But other Americans aren’t so lucky. Some states impose hefty fines for small amounts of cannabis – even for personal use. Here are the 5 harshest state lawscurrently on the books for simple cannabis possession (based on data from NORML.)

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin's lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration over raids that destroyed industrial hemp crop on tribal land.

Ever wonder how your state stands up to the others in terms of marijuana tolerance? We don't mean how much your state can smoke, but how tolerant the locals are toward cannabis. The real-estate website Estately has the answer. 

Using specialized metrics, they put together rankings for all 50 states in their "Marijuana Enthusiasm Index." The criteria are: the percentage of monthly marijuana users, the average price of cannabis, the average number of marijuana-related Google searches, the legal status of marijuana and expressions of public interest (based on Facebook user data). 

Here are five interesting findings.

MILWAUKEE — Some Wisconsin companies are cashing in on new opportunities created by the legalization of marijuana in other states.

A few Wisconsin firms have actively positioned themselves as suppliers to marijuana growers and processors, seeing the industry as an extension of markets they already serve, the Journal Sentinel (http://bit.ly/1O0D8ZL ) reported.

Wausau-based Roastar made a calculated move into enter into the marijuana supply field. Mike Mead, the company's vice president of sales and marketing, said Roastar saw it "as a big, significant opportunity."

The company makes plastic bags for coffee that are often imprinted with designs. Now, it's making flexible pouches for items such as marijuana-infused chocolates.

A northern Wisconsin tribe has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for the right to cultivate industrial hemp.

The Menominee Nation argued in the case it “should have the right under the Farm Bill to cultivate industrial hemp in the same manner as Kentucky, Colorado and other states.”

The tribe has been in negotiations with the DOJ and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency regarding the cultivation of industrial hemp. In October, the officials from the two institutions raided the Menominee Reservation and destroyed its industrial hemp crop.

Brendan Johnson, an attorney representing the Menominee Nation, argued the provisions of the Farm Bill apply to the Menominee tribe.