Voters in Dane County (Madison), Wisconsin, and the city of River Falls both approved medical marijuana advisory referenda Tuesday. The non-binding measures are aimed at building political support for passage of a medical marijuana bill in the state legislature.

In River Falls, where an advisory referendum on medical marijuana was spearheaded by Alderman Bob Hughes, the measure passed with 68% of the vote.
But the prospects for passage of a medical marijuana bill in the legislature are tough. Advocates will be faced with a hostile Republican governor, Scott Walker, a hostile attorney general in JB Van Hollen, and a state legislature now in the hands of Republicans. Arch-medical marijuana nemesis Leah Vukmir won a state Senate seat and will likely chair a key health committee.
Still, voters in two Wisconsin jurisdictions have put legislators on notice that medical marijuana is a winning issue.