Milwaukee: Mayor Signs Ordinance Making Marijuana Possession Offenses A $50 Fine

Milwaukee, WI: Mayor Tom Barrett has signed municipal legislation into law reducing minor marijuana possession offenses to no more than a $50 fine.

Members of the City Council recently voted 10 to 3 to amend the city’s decriminalization ordinance, which has been in effect since the late 1990s. That ordinance classified minor marijuana possession offenses as violations punishable by a fine ranging from $250 to $500.

Under the new ordinance, offenses involving the possession of up to 25 grams of marijuana are punishable by a maximum fine of $50.00.

Milwaukee’s marijuana possession penalties are significantly more lenient than those imposed by state law, which classifies the possession of any amount of cannabis as a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to six-months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500 or Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org.