COUNTY MARIJUANA ORDINANCE ALLOWS ENFORCEMENT OPTIONS

La Crosse County's new marijuana ordinance is not a slippery slope
toward decriminalization of drug use.

Instead, it's a way to give law enforcement another option in dealing
with first-time offenders caught with small amounts of marijuana.

La Crosse County Board members passed the new county ordinance at
their meeting last week. It allows first-time marijuana possession of
small amounts of the drug to be treated as a county ordinance
violation - amounting in a fine, but not a criminal record - instead
of a state criminal charge for misdemeanor possession.

The proposal was supported by county and municipal judges, and
opposed by the La Crosse Police Department and District Attorney Scott Horne.

Police officers made the "slippery slope" argument, and said the
county ordinance sends the wrong message that some drug possession is
not a crime.

Horne said the way he handles small amounts of marijuana - by
charging the person with a criminal misdemeanor, but then expunging
their record if they successfully complete community service and drug
assessment requirements - is a better way to handle first-time offenders.

Judge John Perlich, who presides over the county's drug court and has
advocated the marijuana ordinance for several years, said that it is
a matter of how best to use county resources to deal with low-level offenders.

He showed county board members four criminal complaints for minor
possession, all of which involved considerable time being filed and
processed by clerks.

"All this for a low-risk offender," Perlich said. "All this costs
you, the taxpayer, a lot of money."

Onalaska has treated first-time possession of small amounts of
marijuana as an ordinance violation for 20 years, and Police Chief
Randy Williams said it has not created problems in that city.

Onalaska fines the offender $424, but then reduces that fine to $235
if the offenders complete a drug assessment.

In 2001, Williams said, "I hear the concerns that it appears we're
decriminalizing. My view is that we're being fair in our punishment
of first-offense possession of small amounts of marijuana."

The new ordinance gives law enforcement officers an additional tool,
if they choose to use it, for the lowest level of offenders. Officers
still retain the option of charging as a state offense.

It makes sense, and makes for a wiser use of public resources in
dealing with low-level offenses in which public safety is not threatened.