PROSECUTORS SAY NO TO POT RULE

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.