DRUG CHARGE POLICY TO CHANGE

Due to a lack of staff resources, people caught with less than 25
grams of marijuana will no longer be criminally charged by the Dane
County district attorney.

Those caught can still receive a substantial fine - up to $1,000 - but
will not be charged for possession.

"This is not an absolutely new policy," Assistant District Attorney
Mike Verveer said. "We actually have been following this policy in an
informal way for quite some time in our office."

But District Attorney Brian Blanchard made this announcement to police
chiefs throughout Dane County for the first time this weekend.

"Minor possession of marijuana is not as much of a serious offense as
so much of the other business the district has to deal with," said
Keith Findley, law professor at the University of Wisconsin and
co-director of the Wisconsin Innocence Project and the Criminal
Appeals Project.

Because the District Attorney's office has seen an increase lately in
the number of sexual assaults and violent crime in the downtown and
campus area, Blanchard said the office is prioritizing what crimes
they will prosecute, according to The Associated Press.

"For quite some time now we really have been charging very few
marijuana cases," Verveer said.

Charges will still be filed for people possessing more than 25 grams
of marijuana, and criminal charges could still be filed for people
possessing less than 25 grams if they had committed other offenses.

- - The Associated Press contributed to this report.