Reduced fine for marijuana proposed
The Marathon County Human Services Committee last week Wednesday voted to have the county’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) review a proposal from supervisor Jeff Johnson, Wausau, to reduce the penalty for minor marijuana possession to be no more than a $50 parking ticket. The proposal was debated in a joint meeting with the county’s Public Safety Committee, which voted not to advance the proposal.
The proposal would only affect cases where a sheriff’s deputy would issue a citation to an individual for marijuana possession under 25 grams. It would not affect local municipal sanctions against marijuana use.
Johnson, retired from a career as a state parole officer, said his proposal was prompted by requests from his constituents. He said these people sought legal certainty they could smoke or ingest pot without fear of criminal liability. Johnson said he opposed young people using marijuana, but saw no reason to criminally prosecute “responsible” adults enjoying a THC high as an alternative to drinking beer.
Johnson argued marijuana was not a “gateway drug” to harder drugs and, compared to legal alcohol, was not physically addictive and “significantly safer.”
The supervisor said he supports legalization and state taxation of marijuana and, having talked to Colorado law enforcement officers, he asserted that police would be helped by taking marijuana sales out of the criminal underground. Recognizing the current state legislature will not legalize pot, Johnson said changing the county THC ordinance was a reasonable first step.
County board chairman Kurt Gibbs, town of Cassel, said Johnson’s proposal had merit but was “not ready for prime time.” He suggested the two county committees vote to have the CJCC review the proposal and, possibly, make changes.
Marathon County District Attorney Theresa Wetzsteon and Marathon County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Chad Billeb each had their own take on the Johnson proposal.
Wetzsteon said the proposal was largely unnecessary because the county prosecuted only 37 sheriff’s department cases of THC possession last year and that, for the vast majority of these cases, the prosecution was related to other charges. The district attorney said her office already had a diversion program that was able to deal with an individual’s drug use without creating a criminal record.
Billeb said he was open to discussing lowering the penalties for marijuana as part of a larger exercise to review all of the penalties for county ordinance violations. The standard citation penalty for county ordinances is $250.90, he said.
In response, Johnson said he supported having a diversion program in order to provide counseling to troubled people with a drug problem, but that a diversion program was not needed for many people, including professionals, who recreate with marijuana. “The responsible person does not need a diversion program,” he said.
County board vice-chairman Craig McEwen, Schofield, a former DARE officer, said marijuana was a gateway drug and that he supported current penalties, not the Johnson proposal.
Supervisor Jean Maszk, Mosinee, a member of the Public Safety Committee, cast the lone vote on the committee to advance Johnson’s plan.
She said that “in her heart of hearts” she could support lessening penalties for marijuana knowing a woman, now 73, who was raped by an uncle when she was 16, became pregnant and gave birth to a child. This person, she said, resorted to marijuana over her lifetime to “keep on the straight and narrow.” Maszk said she opposed “demonizing’’ this person, who enjoyed a successful working career, with a marijuana possession charge.
