STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – The Stevens Point Public Policy Committee voted Monday evening to send an ordinance to City Council which would reduce the fine for first-time marijuana possession from $100 to $5.
“If you’re caught with it, automatic $100 plus court fees. That in my mind was ridiculous,” said Ben Kollock a multiple-time cancer survivor and advocate for the proposal. Kollock started advocating for legal use in 2014 during his first stint with cancer. The doctors told him that marijuana could help in ways that prescribed medication has not.
Mayor of Stevens Point Mike Wiza mentioned that the use of pot shouldn’t arise to the levels of other drug crimes, and the majority of the city agrees. “As a community, the general mindset is that personal usage whether it’s recreational or medicinal doesn’t rise to the level of other crimes” Said Wiza.
The policy change would apply for possession of up to 25 grams.
This isn’t the first time in recent memory that leaders in the City of Stevens Point have considered lowering fines for possession of marijuana. In late 2017 city leaders considered lowering the fine for first-time possession of five grams or less of the drug to $5. That proposal didn’t pass, with some concerned about confusion over who could write the $5 ticket.
The next council meeting is Monday, June 20th at 7:00 PM.
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