LIGHTER POT PENALITES ALLOWED

La Crosse County authorities have the option of issuing citations and
fining people found with small amounts of marijuana, instead of
charging them with a misdemeanor.

The La Crosse County Board has adopted an ordinance that allows
lesser penalties for people accused of possessing under 25 grams of
the drug for the first time. The debate Thursday included testimony
from the district attorney, a judge and the sheriff.

District Attorney Scott Horne argued against the measure, saying the
current system identifies problem offenders early, before they move
on to more serious drug abuse and criminal behavior and does not
taint their records if they follow court-ordered education and
community-service programs.

"The ordinance sends the wrong message to the community and removes
the current emphasis on education and assessment," he said.

But La Crosse County Circuit Judge John Perlich, who presides over
the county's drug court, then displayed four criminal complaints for
minor marijuana possession from a recent day, reciting a long list of
clerks who spent time filing and processing the complaints.

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

But like Horne, La Crosse County Sheriff Michael Weissenberger voiced
strong opposition to the ordinance. Marijuana possession, even in
small amounts, is reason for concern, he said.

"How do we know the person didn't just get done selling more of it?" he said.