Council votes to decriminalize marijuana possession
By SAMANTHA MARCUS | smarcus@lacrossetribune.com | Posted: Thursday, October 7, 2010 9:45 pm
The La Crosse Common Council, in a surprising move tonight, voted to decriminalize marijuana possession.
The measure allows police officers and district attorneys the discretion to charge violators with either a criminal offense or a municipal one, which is a monetary forfeiture.
It would apply only to first-time offenders with 25 or fewer grams of marijuana.
Were very happy with the recent decision, said Chris Herbst, a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse student who was at the meeting. Its easy to say no. Its not easy to speak out for something that has this large of a social stigma.
The council in 2001 voted against the same initiative after five circuit court judges requested the option of charging marijuana possession as an ordinance violation.
Then and tonight, council member John Satory who praised medical marijuana for comforting his mother, who died of cancer was one of the council members to support decriminalization.
The council had voted against the policy change Tuesday, when La Crosse police Chief Ed Kondracki spoke against the proposal, saying it sends the message it is of no more consequence than being ticketed for skateboarding in a parking structure.
Its part of a very violent equation. I shudder to think that we, as a city, are looking for a revenue stream in this equation, Kondracki said.
Anything we do to reduce the penalties helps those drug cartels. Its almost like subsidizing them.
We dont want that latitude.