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Pot Holes
Posted by FoM on August 12, 1999 at 17:46:50 PT
By Bill Lueders
Source: Isthmus
Mayor Sue Bauman, responding to Isthmus' July 30 article on criminal prosecutions for marijuana possession, says she "continues to believe that small amounts of marijuana for personal use should be handled through the Madison ordinance," rather than charged as crimes, as Madison police are now doing in the majority of cases.
Noting that officers have discretion in handling these cases, Bauman says Assistant Police Chief Ted Balistreri "has agreed to review the police reports to determine whether, with hindsight, more citations and less criminal com plaints should have been issued" "We want to take a look at developing a policy that offers direction to officers,' says Balistreri, adding that the department wants its enforcement priorities to reflect community opinion. Hopes to have a new interim policy in place in two or three weeks. Both Bauman and Balistreri are stumped by a claim made by Assistant Dane County District Attorney Ken Farmer in a Feb. 2 memo to District Attorney Diane Nicks that "police are against" reducing charges to city ordinance violations. "I have no idea where Ken Farmer got that information or what he is referring to," says Bauman. Balistreri is meeting with Nicks this week to resolve this and other issues. Nicks did not return a phone call from Isthmus. But someone from her office did call John Nichols of The Capital Times to chide him for using Isthmus' story as the basis for an Aug. 4 editorial taking Nicks t6 task for failing to follow through on campaign promises to make pot prosecutions a low priority. Nichols asked the caller, who he "has no doubt" was acting at Nicks' behest, to identify anything in the article that was incorrect and was told, "We'll have to get back to you." He's still waiting.August 13,1999Forum:http://www.thedailypage.com/netforum/isthmus-forum/a.cgiEmail edit isthmus.com  Drug Policy Forum Of Wisconsinhttp://www.drugsense.org/dpfwi/
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