MARATHON COUNTY PROSECUTORS IGNORE NEW MARIJUANA LAW

Marathon County prosecutors continue to file misdemeanor and felony charges
against anyone caught with marijuana, despite the County Board's decision in
March to decriminalize minor possession among first-time offenders.

Under the ordinance, a first-time offender pays a fine for possessing 25
grams of marijuana or less. Repeat offenders and those caught with larger
amounts of marijuana must be charged under a related state statute and face
stricter punishments.

"I do not agree with (the county ordinance)," said Marathon County District
Attorney Jill Falstad. "I think first-offenders should be dealt with under
the conditional discharge statute."

She and other attorneys in her office have not included the ordinance in
their charging or prosecuting decisions, preferring to offer conditional
discharges as an alternative to convictions for first-time offenders who are
willing to complete a year of treatment and stay on their best behavior.

Some defense attorneys are disappointed that the ordinance has not been
implemented. A simple citation, they say, is a sensible punishment for some
young people and makes the courts more efficient and cost-effective.

In the nearly eight months since the ordinance took effect in late April,
more than 100 people 17 and older have been charged or convicted in the
county under the state's marijuana possession statute. None has been charged
under the ordinance.

Most cases involving defendants younger than 17 are filed in juvenile court
and, therefore, are more difficult to track, but criminal justice officials
and attorneys suggest the trend is the same with juvenile offenders.

Wausau defense attorney Gene Linehan sees the county ordinance as the most
recent example of gradually softening punishments for minor marijuana users,
from jail time to probation to a mere fine.

"They keep drifting toward more understanding; that this is a social problem
more than a legal problem," Linehan said.

Marathon County Sheriff Randy Hoenisch, a proponent of the ordinance
originally, said in March that his department would focus on applying the
ordinance primarily to juvenile offenders at first. Hoenisch said Thursday
that he still leaves the matter to the discretion of his officers.

Linehan did not expect the ordinance to catch on right away. He rarely
mentions it when negotiating clients' cases with prosecutors because, he
said, prosecutors don't accept it as an option yet.

But cities such as Madison enforce a similar ordinance for marijuana
possession, and with time practices elsewhere will become common in Marathon
County, Linehan said.

"Anything that helps these young people get through life without a criminal
record is fine with me," he said.