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$1 drug deal?: La Crosse County moves to reduce pot punishment

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Published  September 10, 2025 11:59am CDT
Cannabis
FOX 9
article

A jar of some homegrown Minnesota marijuana. (FOX 9)

The Brief

    • La Crosse County is moving forward with an ordinance reducing the fine for marijuana possession to $1.
    • The county supervisor proposing the change says it’s practical and symbolic, but only necessary because Wisconsin hasn’t followed neighboring states in decriminalizing possession.
    • The new ordinance passed a committee 4-1 this week and goes before the full board next week for the first of two readings.

LA CROSSE, Wis. (FOX 9) - Marijuana is still illegal in Wisconsin, but getting caught with it could soon cost you only $1 in La Crosse County.

$1 deal

Petty possession punishment:

County commissioners will take up an ordinance next week that would drastically reduce the fine for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. 

"It’s both practical and symbolic," said Supervisor David Pierce in an interview with FOX 9. "This is within the broader context of the Wisconsin legislature not following the lead of our neighboring states and decriminalizing possession of marijuana."

Why change?

Higher priorities:

Possession currently comes with a fine of $100 plus fees, usually almost tripling the total.

Pierce says there are higher priorities than low-level marijuana cases, so La Crosse County does not need to be prosecuting those.

Pierce says he consulted the current district attorney and sheriff before proposing the ordinance and they didn’t raise any red flags. 

What's next:

This week, the county’s Judiciary and Law Committee passed the ordinance by a 4-1 vote.

It goes before the full board of supervisors on Sept. 18 and again in October. 

Pierce says he wouldn’t have proposed it if he didn’t think it could pass, but he’d rather see change at the state level.

"I wish this ordinance didn’t have to exist," he said.

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