Pubdate: Thu, 08 Mar 2007
Source: Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, WI)
Copyright: 2007 Eau Claire Press
Contact: http://www.cvol.net/contacteditor.htm#editorform
Website: http://www.leadertelegram.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/236
Author: Don Huebscher, editor

SMALL MARIJUANA CASES SHOULDN'T BE PROSECUTORS' PRIORITY

It takes discipline to balance a family budget on a middle-class income.

Costly temptations - from high-definition TVs to the weekly "sale of 
the year" - make it more important than ever to know where to draw 
the line. The proliferation of quickie-loan businesses is proof of 
the number of people who find themselves caught short at bill-paying time.

It's the same with government. We want the best public services, a 
seemingly endless list including roads, jails, courts, schools, 
police and fire protection. But in the end, taxpayers collectively 
are no different from the young couple paying bills at the end of the month.

That's why it was refreshingly honest to hear Dane County District 
Attorney Brian Blanchard point out recently that his office has 
stopped filing criminal charges against those found with small 
amounts of marijuana. Such people still face fines of up to several 
hundred dollars, but Blanchard said his office doesn't have the 
manpower or budget to deal with the volume of such cases as criminal 
court matters.

Eau Claire County District Attorney Rich White echoed Blanchard's 
philosophy. It's not a personal judgment by either prosecutor about 
their approval of people smoking marijuana. Rather, it's a question 
of priorities.

"Prosecutors ... are increasingly swamped with criminal cases, and we 
have to make decisions like that," White said.

There are 29 lawyers in Blanchard's office, the same number as in 
1988. Meanwhile, Dane County's population has boomed during that 
period. That means something has to give, and his decision to devote 
less time to marijuana possession cases is pretty much a no-brainer.

"I don't think we have a marijuana problem in Dane County," Blanchard 
said. "I think we have a heroin problem. I think we have a crack 
problem. I think we have a much larger alcohol problem than we have a 
marijuana problem."

Statistics in most counties support Blanchard's argument. Unless we 
want to pay even higher taxes to build more jails and courtrooms, and 
hire more police, judges, prosecutors, public defenders, clerks, 
bailiffs, and jailers, then we have to be realistic in what we can 
expect "the system" to manage.

Eau Claire County Judge Eric Wahl acknowledged marijuana possession 
cases pale in comparison to other criminal matters he has to deal 
with, but he also pointed out it may not be wise to send a signal to 
pot smokers that their activity is not considered a problem or is 
somehow condoned.

Marijuana long has been called a "gateway drug" to more serious 
addictions. It's also no secret those involved in selling large 
amounts of marijuana often aren't exactly model citizens. So it is in 
society's best interest not to adopt a "who cares" attitude toward 
marijuana use, which, like alcohol, sometimes is a component in more 
serious crimes that occur when people's brains get addled.

But the degree to which we want to wage the "war on drugs" is 
dependent on how much we want to spend. And maybe after decades of 
trying to eliminate marijuana use, it's time to acknowledge there are 
other priorities for our resources, particularly punishing those who 
inflict bodily harm on others.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine