Republican candidate for state Attorney General Brad Schimel would make combating drug abuse one of his top priorities if elected, but a more lenient approach might be warranted for first-time offenders when small amounts of marijuana are involved.
Schimel, who visited Shawano this week on a tour of Northeast Wisconsin counties, said it would be a mistake to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Wisconsin.
“We don’t need to encourage young people to do any more things that are clouding their minds or their judgment,” he said.
However, Schimel also favors alternatives to criminal prosecution in some cases.
“Many counties and communities have enacted ordinances to make a small amount (of marijuana), the first offender cases a civil forfeiture rather than a criminal prosecution,” he said.
That includes Waukesha County, where Schimel has been district attorney since 2006.
“People howled, ‘oh, you’re legalizing pot,’” Schimel said. “No we’re not. We’re taking a sensible approach. When you have a young man with a joint or small baggie of pot, we can do things to help him get the message that don’t require him to get a criminal conviction.”
Schimel said the ease with which the general public can search criminal records on the Internet makes it more vital than ever that prosecutors use caution when charging someone.
“The consequences are going to be much longer term now,” he said. “Having some noncriminal resolutions available make all the sense in the world.”
Schimel still feels marijuana is a dangerous drug, but a greater threat is the growing use of heroin and abuse of prescription drugs.
“We’re not going to win this fight in the old traditional war on drugs kind of approach,” Schimel said. “We’ve got to focus on prevention.”
Schimel said he would also emphasize training and resources for law enforcement and prosecutors.
Schimel is the lone Republican candidate for the attorney general’s office in the November election.
He will face one of three Democratic candidates in the Aug. 12 primary — state representative Jon Richards, Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne and Jefferson County District Attorney Susan Happ.
Republican incumbent J.B. Van Hollen is not seeking re-election.
“This is a very important race for Wisconsin,” Schimel said. “As a state, we’re about to turn the corner on our economy I think. But we’ve got to make sure we’ve got an AG’s office that’s going to make the rules predictable, stable; that will make sure that business leaders who are thinking about investing and hiring people here can know the rules are going to be the same a year from now as they are today unless the Legislature changes them.”
Schimel also advocated the creation of a solicitor general’s office to handle the state’s legal challenges to the federal government.
“We’ve got the federal government being sued pretty regularly now,” Schimel said, on matters ranging from Obamacare to Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
“We need a solicitor general focused on protecting the state of Wisconsin,” he said.
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