If you are caught carrying less than 25 grams of marijuana—about two dozen joints—in Dane County, your case will now most likely not make it to the prosecution stage, District Attorney Brian Blanchard's office announced Friday.
Blanchard told Channel 3000 people found with fewer than 25 grams of marijuana see tickets for hundreds of dollars, but the DA will not actively prosecute them. Also, the DA will not file charges for marijuana-related paraphernalia.
The cause for the announcement, according to Blanchard, is due to a lack of resources. He said the DA simply does not have enough prosecutors to take on lower-level drug cases.
District 5 Dane County Supervisor, Ashok Kumar said, ""The reality is the district attorney's office does not have enough money from the state."" He added, however, that this does not mean the DA will not pursue intent-to-sell cases.
Blanchard said the DA will not necessarily prosecute less and instead said wants police to be more active, Channel 3000 reported.
In Madison, tickets for possessing up to 28 grams of cannabis in public cost $109, while private possession of that amount is not a crime.
—Channel 3000 contributed
to this report.
