Bill Aims to Increase Fines for Cannabis Possession in Wisconsin |

A bill proposed by a bipartisan couple of Wisconsin lawmakers could increase fines for owning marijuana in some of the state’s most populous and diverse cities.

The legislation aims to “impose nationwide fines of no less than $ 100 for possession of 14 grams or less of marijuana and no more than $ 250,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, “reported many communities like Green Bay would oblige to lower the minimum penalties for the offense “. . “

This could have a significant impact on communities like Milwaukee, by far the largest and most diverse city in Wisconsin, where, as the Journal Sentinel found, “Fines for possession of marijuana of 28 grams or less are currently $ 1”.

The proposed law “would increase fines to $ 100 for 14 grams or less, but would allow district officials to keep fines of $ 1 for convictions over 14 grams,” the Journal Sentinel reported.

“Under current law, a person convicted of marijuana possession faces fines of up to $ 1,000 and up to six months in prison for the first offense,” the newspaper said. “In subsequent crimes, the crime becomes a crime.”

Unlike in the neighboring Great Lakes states of Illinois and Michigan, cannabis use is still illegal in Wisconsin. For years, Badger State legislatures have proposed legislative changes that have all gone up in smoke. However, there are signs that change may be on the horizon.

Wisconsin suggests legal cannabis

Earlier this year, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced that his budget proposal for the years 2021-2023 aims to “[regulate and tax] Marijuana, like us alcohol. “

“States across the country have pushed legalization and there is no reason to leave Wisconsin behind,” Evers said in a statement at the time, adding that the regulation and taxation of cannabis like alcohol “provides a controlled market and safe products” . both recreational and medical users and can open the door to myriad opportunities for us to reinvest in our communities and create a fairer state. “

For now, Wisconsin legalization advocates must grapple with the law, which aims to standardize marijuana fines across the state.

The bill was proposed by US House Representative Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, a Democrat, and US House Representative Shae Sortwell, a Republican, who detailed the bill at a press conference held at the Madison Statehouse on Tuesday.

“Part of the problem is the Milwaukee people when they leave the county and go to another county … they don’t really know that the rule is only for that county,” said Ortez-Velez, who represents Milwaukee, as quoted from Sentinel magazine. “When people are confused about how the laws apply within patchworks, it gets tougher.”

But some of Ortiz-Velez’s democratic colleagues in the legislature are not on board with the proposal.

Senator Melissa Agard, a Democrat, said it was “important as legislators that we honor the work that is being done locally … worried that this bill contains provisions that would undo some of that work.”

Agard represents Madison, the state’s second largest city and home to the flagship University of Wisconsin, where “permission to own up to 28 grams of marijuana on private or public property is not penalized,” according to the Sentinel Journal.

Another Madison lawmaker, Democratic State Senator Kelda Roys, agreed with Agard’s concerns.

“For communities like Madison and Milwaukee, which are very different communities, with large populations of people of color who are disproportionately affected by the criminal justice system, it would be worse,” said Roys, the newspaper quoted.