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A Crosse County Prosecutors Soon Might Have Another Option For First-Time Marijuana Offenders. Whether they'd use it is another matter.
The county board's Judiciary and Law Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend a new county ordinance against marijuana that could be used instead of tougher state laws.
But District Attorney Scott Horne, who couldn't attend the committee meeting, told the Tribune earlier Tuesday, "We won't use it."
Tuesday's vote came after a vigorous debate between the county's Drug Court judge, a prosecutor, a drug investigator and county supervisors about current marijuana prosecution and diversion practices.
"I'm not trying to encourage drug use," said Circuit Judge John Perlich, who runs the Drug Court. The current system of charging first-time offenders with misdemeanor possession takes too much time for police, prosecutors and court workers, he said.
Ticketing first-time offenders for an ordinance violation would keep them from having a criminal conviction on their records, which could prevent them from getting an education, he said. And it would keep the fines in the county, he said.
"We have to get smarter about where we spend our money," Perlich said. "The current system encourages the kind of behavior we want to discourage."
Deputy District Attorney Loralee Clark said they already have an effective diversion program for first-time offenders with Unity House, combining education with community service in exchange for having no criminal charges filed.
Perlich called the Unity House program a "good idea," but said there's too much paperwork involved and no evidence it cuts repeat offenses.
La Crosse County Sheriff's Investigator Fritz Leinfelder said every methamphetamine and crack ******* addict he's interviewed said they started with marijuana.
"We have to look at the message we're sending that 'It's just marijuana,'" said Leinfelder.
The ordinance now goes to the full county board for a first reading May 18.
Final action could come in June.
Newshawk: Urdedpal -420 Magazine
Pubdate: Wed, 10 May 2006
Source: La Crosse Tribune (WI)
Copyright: 2006 The La Crosse Tribune
The county board's Judiciary and Law Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend a new county ordinance against marijuana that could be used instead of tougher state laws.
But District Attorney Scott Horne, who couldn't attend the committee meeting, told the Tribune earlier Tuesday, "We won't use it."
Tuesday's vote came after a vigorous debate between the county's Drug Court judge, a prosecutor, a drug investigator and county supervisors about current marijuana prosecution and diversion practices.
"I'm not trying to encourage drug use," said Circuit Judge John Perlich, who runs the Drug Court. The current system of charging first-time offenders with misdemeanor possession takes too much time for police, prosecutors and court workers, he said.
Ticketing first-time offenders for an ordinance violation would keep them from having a criminal conviction on their records, which could prevent them from getting an education, he said. And it would keep the fines in the county, he said.
"We have to get smarter about where we spend our money," Perlich said. "The current system encourages the kind of behavior we want to discourage."
Deputy District Attorney Loralee Clark said they already have an effective diversion program for first-time offenders with Unity House, combining education with community service in exchange for having no criminal charges filed.
Perlich called the Unity House program a "good idea," but said there's too much paperwork involved and no evidence it cuts repeat offenses.
La Crosse County Sheriff's Investigator Fritz Leinfelder said every methamphetamine and crack ******* addict he's interviewed said they started with marijuana.
"We have to look at the message we're sending that 'It's just marijuana,'" said Leinfelder.
The ordinance now goes to the full county board for a first reading May 18.
Final action could come in June.
Newshawk: Urdedpal -420 Magazine
Pubdate: Wed, 10 May 2006
Source: La Crosse Tribune (WI)
Copyright: 2006 The La Crosse Tribune
