Under Wisconsin criminal laws, drug possession is a serious charge which can lead to serious penalties. If convicted, you could face several years in prison, steep fines, the loss of certain rights such as voting, as well as damage to your reputation, and the inability to hold particular jobs or licenses. Simply put, a conviction on drug possession charges has the potential to ruin your life.
No. Marijuana remains illegal in Wisconsin for both recreation and medical use. Wisconsin has some of the firmest anti-marijuana laws in the United States. Canada, Michigan, and now Illinois all permit recreational marijuana possession and use. As such, many first-time offenders unassumingly bring marijuana into the state without considering the consequences.
Wisconsin has some of the strictest drug laws in the nation. Marijuana is illegal at both a state and federal level, and Wisconsin drug charges often carry serious felony-level consequences. Wisconsin students are particularly vulnerable to the direct and collateral consequences of a Wisconsin drug conviction. From difficulties obtaining financial aid and student housing to rejection or dismissal from Wisconsin universities, a single drug offense can have lifetime consequences for students.
With a quick step over the Wisconsin border to Michigan’s upper peninsula, marijuana goes from fully illegal to completely legalized. Recreational pot is also legal in Canada and has been partially decriminalized in Minnesota. All around Wisconsin, cannabis is available for legal recreation and/or medical use, but Wisconsin residents must proceed with caution. Legally purchasing medical or recreational pot in another state or country does not mean the marijuana becomes legal in Wisconsin. Transporting marijuana over state or international borders is actually a federal drug offense and illegal in Wisconsin. In fact, possession of marijuana is a felony in all but limited circumstances, and Wisconsin has some of the most repressive marijuana laws in North America.
Suppression of evidence is one of the primary legal protections afforded to criminal defendants in the United States. Excluding evidence obtained in violation of law or tainted due errors on the part of law enforcement gives teeth to the Fourth Amendment’s constitutional guarantees. Without the exclusionary rule, law enforcement would have little incentive to respect your constitutional rights. Drug evidence seized due to an illegal traffic stop, pat down, or unlawful search must generally be excluded from consideration during post-indictment proceedings. The court must assume the evidence doesn’t exist, and the suppression of drug evidence often results in a dismissal of any drug-related charges against you.
Traffic stops are the most common reason for people to have contact with the police. In some cases, an officer will search your car during a traffic stop. These searches are sometimes justified and sometimes not. If a vehicle search results in the discovery of illegal drugs, it can result in significant legal consequences. For this reason, if you’ve been arrested after the police searched your vehicle, you should talk to an attorney as soon as you can. In some instances, a lawyer may be able to have the case against you completely dismissed.
Since the sale and possession of recreational marijuana became legal in Colorado in 2014, the attitude toward cannabis use and legalization has largely shifted across the United States. People in many states have seen cannabis-related propositions on ballots, and state legislatures have voted on many proposals involving medical marijuana, recreational marijuana, hemp, and the decriminalization of marijuana possession. With so many changes, it can be difficult to know the law and the potential consequences of marijuana possession.