cannabisnews.com: Deputies Get Leeway on Pot Offenders





Deputies Get Leeway on Pot Offenders
Posted by FoM on December 12, 2001 at 17:29:24 PT
By Ed Culhane, Post-Crescent Staff Writer 
Source: Appleton Post-Crescent 
Possession of a small amount of marijuana can now be treated as an ordinance violation in Outagamie County, punishable by a non-criminal fine. The Outagamie County Board voted 29-9 Tuesday to create the ordinance, giving sheriff’s deputies the discretion to write a citation if an individual is caught with 10 grams or less of marijuana. Fines will be $150 for a first offense and $300 for a second.
Deputies retain the ability to arrest people caught with small amounts of marijuana, or with marijuana pipes or other drug paraphernalia, and refer them to the district attorney’s office for criminal prosecution.“It is an excellent tool for officers,” said Sheriff Brad Gehring, who was joined by Circuit Judge Dennis Luebke in supporting the ordinance at the committee level Tuesday. “It gives officers additional discretion when they are dealing with mitigating factors.”The countywide ordinance, also supported by County Executive Toby Paltzer, resembles ordinances in Appleton and other area municipalities and in other counties, including Winnebago. It previously was approved by the Law Enforcement Committee, but not unanimously.“I’m voting no,” said committee chairman Lloyd Kloehn, who said the ordinance should have included mandatory counseling. “We’re trying to make it look almost legal here, like Outagamie County is soft on drugs.”Supv. Jim Smits said the ordinance was a step on the “slippery slope” toward legalization.But other board members, seeking ways to slow rapidly escalating jail costs, said fines were appropriate in many cases.Supv. Ed Thomas, who first proposed the ordinance, said counseling remained an option under criminal statutes.“This is just a tool officers do not have at this point,” he said before the vote. “It will put us in line with municipalities throughout the county, and counties throughout the state.” Note: Outagamie OKs ordinance giving police reduced-penalty discretion.Source: Appleton Post-Crescent (WI)Author: Ed Culhane, Post-Crescent Staff Writer Published: December 12, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Post-CrescentContact: pcnews smgpo.gannett.comWebsite: http://www.wisinfo.com/postcrescent/index.shtmlWhat's New In Drug Policy Reformhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/whatsnew.htmCannabisNews - Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by tyler d on January 12, 2002 at 15:22:45 PT
RE: Lloyd needs an education
Well as we all know Kaukauna is the armpit of America, in 98' Kaukauna was 5 ranked in cities with the most drug activity/per capita within 5 states, including Wisconsin and surrounding. Either this is bunk data, or somebody isn’t doing there job. Kaukauna: 12,781 strong?
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Comment #2 posted by qqqq on December 13, 2001 at 03:00:31 PT
....it seems somehow more strange...
...when we see stories like this ,where a very limited adjustment is made in the 'Crime and Punishment' of Marijuana "offenders"........It's true that such reforms are a step forward,,,,but I cant help but look at the big picture,and how absurd the laws are in the first place....Many more people have died from jaywalking,than smoking weed................and...it seems kinda,even stranger,,to think about paying a fine for getting busted,,like some really weird traffic ticket,,kindof,as if getting caught with weed,is equivelent to a speeding ticket,and you go to court,and the judge asks if you wanna plead guilty,,or you can go to some drug education class,,,and listen to some shithead Seargent Stedenko guy go over all the misinformation and lies from anti-speak....Kinda like a DARE thing for adults. ...DREAD. ..DrugRehabilitationEndoctrinationAndDiversion. .....I'd almost rather go to jail!..can you imagine trying to hire people to "teach",such a program?,,,you know,,first thing that comes to mind,is having some DARE drugpig cult scholars try and teach the adult version of DARE,,but I'm quite sure that they would find it much more akward than teaching a bunch of school kids.There would be old,cynical,bitter pissed off Hippies like me in the "class",,...if there's one thing I cant hack,,it's some shithead cop tryin' to lecture my old ass.I have my doctorate in drugs.....I'm so familiar with drugs,that I dont even need to use them anymore,, I can get high,,by using my mind.....or,,,if I got really hard up,I'll betchya I could extract some rich hash/tobacco from a lung oyster loogee.........sorry,that's a sick concept,,,but it makes me wonder what is stopping them from busting me for possesion,or smuggling?,,I'll bet there are some serious residues in my body,,far more than even the stoniest of hemp ice cream,or that hemp shampoo and hand lotion....I gotta figure out how to extract all the THC out of hemp products before the Feb.6 DEA deadline....I have this master plan to buy up as many hemp based products as I can,they will probably be cheap,because people are trying to get rid of them......I'll bet I could get one toke of barely smokeable crap,out of ten gallons of hand lotion,,or maybe I'll try hemp garments,,ya know,,boil them in acetone or something......When it comes to the overall big picture,concerning freedom,and rights,, I'm not sure if drug prohibition is at the top of the heap anymore..When one considers the frighteningly spectacular coup of our government,and the astonishing development of the mother of all Evil Empires,and its' dominance of the media.......it's almost as if the drug war has been dwarfed by the grotesque anti-terror taliban that infests our government.....it aint pretty
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Comment #1 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on December 12, 2001 at 18:13:07 PT
Lloyd needs an education
  The more I read about America's Dairyland, the more I'm starting to like it.  But Lloyd Kloehn sounds like another Wisconsin politician who needs an education. Somebody ought to get in touch with Lloyd and get him the facts.              Lloyd S Kloehn
              400 Pheasant Run
              Kaukauna 54130
              766-3002  He's on the Law Enforcement committee (natch) and the committee chairpersons committee, which sounds rather Brazil-esque...  Here's the page I got the above contact info from (easily!), in case anybody is worried I might be a stalker:
http://www.co.outagamie.wi.us/home/brdofsup/board%5Fof%5Fsupervisors.html
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