Alcohol Beverages and Cannabis

Wisconsin’s system for regulating the alcohol beverages industry is commonly referred to as the “three-tier system.” The three tiers, or categories, of regulated entities are: (1) manufacturers; (2) wholesalers (or distributors); and (3) retailers. Unless a specific exception applies, all sales of alcohol beverages must occur through the three-tier system, from manufacturers to wholesalers to retailers to consumers. Chapter 125, Stats., Wisconsin’s Alcohol Beverages Chapter, sets forth the state’s system of regulating these three tiers.

Since passage of the Agricultural Act of 2014, states have been authorized to operate research-based pilot programs relating to hemp production. On December 20, 2018, President Trump signed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, which expanded the manner in which states and tribes may authorize and regulate hemp production and made other significant changes that generally transitioned hemp from a research-based product to an agricultural commodity under federal law.