The Great Dane in Madison has brewed a pale ale with CBD.

Great Dane brewpubs will launch CBD-infused beer, cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages starting Dec. 13 at all five of the brewpub's locations — in Madison, Fitchburg and Wausau. 

It's likely the first brewer in Wisconsin to add cannabidiol to beer. 

The launch includes a celebration from 4:30 to 6 p.m. that day hosted by The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co., and its CBD partner, Madison-based GreenRX, at the The Great Dane Pub, 123 E. Doty St., in Madison.

CBD is cannabidiol, which is extracted from the flowers of hemp plants and is considered non-psychoactive. Marijuana, hemp and hops are related agriculture products.

Interest in producing hemp, the non-psychoactive cousin of marijuana, is growing in Wisconsin.

While this year's harvest doesn't look the best because of wet weather and inexperienced growers, interest in the crop is strong after legislative action this year lifted the state's decades-old ban on industrial hemp, The Post Crescent reported.

"Currently, there is more demand than supply," said Abbie Testaberg, a River Falls area resident who is equipping a 5,200-square-foot indoor, aeroponic growing and processing facility.

Nearly 140 Wisconsin farmers planted the crop this year. Many of them said they plan to continue planting next year despite this year's challenges.

Farmers in Wisconsin have high hopes for a new cash crop: Hemp. It looks and smells like marijuana but it will not get you high. FOX 11 Investigates examined the state’s new hemp pilot program earlier this year.

Robert Hornacek traveled to Mount Horeb to follow up on the program and what it could mean for the future. “The size of the plants has exceeded my expectations,” said John Eichorst of Mount Horeb Hemp.

From a distance, his half-acre hemp field almost looks like a field of Christmas trees. “It’s been a lot of work,” Eichorst said.

Willie Hughes was one of the Wisconsin farmers growing hemp legally for the first time in about seven decades, and he wanted his crop to thrive.

Growing hemp carried uncertainty. What care did it need? How is it harvested? What’s its legality, considering the federal government still classifies it as an illegal substance?

Many curious farmers chose to stay on the sidelines and not grow hemp this year. They wanted to see how others handled it before jumping in. Hughes put extra pressure on himself.

More than a dozen counties around Wisconsin will ask a question about the legalization of marijuana on the ballots in November. The counties are asking different questions, but they are all advisory referendums, meaning they don't require the state legislature to take action.

"It's really just sending a message to the state that the citizens want to see a change in the law," said Dane County Clerk Scott McDonell.

In Dane County, the question on the ballot is, "Should marijuana be legalized, taxed and regulated in the same manner as alcohol for adults 21 years of age or older?"

We’re four weeks away from the November midterm elections, and obviously a lot in the political landscape could change on that day. Democrats could retake Congress, governor’s mansions could flip to a new party and so much more, writes Joseph Misulonas.

The fall campaign for cannabis, aka marijuana, will soon be visible in more than a dozen Wisconsin counties as volunteers put up yard signs and knock on doors.

Here's a voter's guide on everything you need to know about the ballot issues:

Know your ballots

Voters in 16 counties and two cities will find marijuana use referendum questions on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.

All are advisory referendums and do not require the Legislature to take action. But responses of voters will provide marijuana legalization activists with a measure of public opinion that they will use to encourage lawmakers to relax or eliminate current prohibitions on pot.

Milwaukee is moving in the right direction when it comes to marijuana policy.

A Milwaukee County Board committee has voted unanimously to put a marijuana referendum on the November ballot. The Judiciary, Safety and General Services Committee gave their approval to the proposal yesterday. Milwaukee County is the most populous county in the state of Wisconsin.

The election would not by itself end the prohibition of marijuana. It calls on the State of Wisconsin to legalize cannabis and allow for a regulated and taxed marijuana market.

The threat of dangerous synthetic cannabis has spread to five states, prompting health departments to go full force.

Steve Acheson struggles with a back injury and posttraumatic stress disorder resulting from his active duty in Iraq from 2004-2008. Both health issues trigger his anxiety in crowds and have brought on depression and frequent nightmares. Acheson served as lead Humvee driver for a U.S. Army colonel on more than 400 missions, and he was still deployed when he underwent two of his three back surgeries. For the back pain that still plagues him, Acheson was prescribed a raft of opiates, muscle relaxants and other drugs by Veterans Affairs doctors. He says he replaced all that with cannabis, which he started using daily in 2009.