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MARIJUANA POSSESSION

A Weekly Feature on Proposed Changes to State and Local Law.  in a Nutshell

Under current law, a city, village, town or county can enact and enforce an ordinance prohibiting the possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana or the possession of a synthetic cannabinoid.  A person who is charged with possession of more than 25 grams of marijuana or who is charged with possession of any amount of marijuana or a synthetic cannabinoid following a conviction for the possession of a controlled substance generally may not be prosecuted under the ordinance.

This bill ( AB164 ) allows a city, village, town or county to enact and enforce an ordinance to prohibit the possession of any amount of marijuana and to prosecute a person for a second or subsequent offense of possessing marijuana or a synthetic cannabinoid.

A city, village or town, however, may enforce the prohibition against possessing marijuana in a case in which the person is alleged to possess more than 25 grams of marijuana, or may prosecute a second or subsequent offense, only if the state complaint against the person is dismissed or if the district attorney declines to prosecute the case.  A county may enforce the prohibition against possessing marijuana in a case in which the person is alleged to possess more than 25 grams of marijuana or may prosecute a second or subsequent offense only if, after the state dismisses the complaint or declines to prosecute the case, the city, village or town with jurisdiction also dismisses the complaint, declines to prosecute the case, or lacks an ordinance under which the complaint could be prosecuted.  The case for it

Hariah Hutkowski, chief of staff for Rep.  Jeremy Thiesfeldt ( R-Fond du Lac ), who introduced the measure, said state laws have inadvertently created a kind of loophole in which a first-time offender is penalized for marijuana possession, but a repeat offender can potentially escape prosecution if a district attorney declines to pursue the case.

Some district attorneys in the state are not prosecuting possession of relatively small amounts of marijuana for personal use, sometimes citing a lack of resources to handle such cases, Hutkowski said.

"Our goal is just to make sure the law is enforced and everyone has equal justice," he said.  "If it's on the books, people expect the law to be enforced.  It's an issue of consistency."

Hutkowski, who is also a Sun Prairie City Council member, said he also believes it is bad for the the morale of police officers, who are left questioning why they devote time and resources to enforcing the law when offenders end up facing no consequences.

Even if the consequence is a municipal fine, he said, there is a record of the offense.  The case against it

Gary Storck, co-founder of Madison and Wisconsin NORML and Is My Medicine Legal YET?, marijuana advocacy organizations, said that a time when many other states are moving in the direction of decriminalization or outright legalization of marijuana, including marijuana for medical use, this measure goes in the wrong direction.

"We feel it almost smacks of double jeopardy," Storck said.

"I think in practice it would be used more to target people" and get money out of them, he said, adding that those who would be subject to sometimes steep fines are mostly young and lower-income people.

Storck said it would be better to set an amount of marijuana, such as less than 25 grams, that would constitute a civil, rather than criminal, offense statewide.  That would reduce fear of being charged with a felony for possessing even a few grams of marijuana for personal or medical use, he said.  To get involved

To contact your lawmaker about this or any other bill, call the legislative hotline, which is staffed from 8:15 a.m.  to 4:45 p.m.  weekdays at 608-266-9960 or 800-362-9472.  To send an email, go to the Legislature's website at legis.wisconsin.gov, select Assembly and follow the link.