In Madison, if you are caught in a public place "casually possessing" marijuana, the penalty is a $100 fine, but is still not considered a crime and cannot be recorded as such. Within a private residence, however, there is no fine, and no confiscatory procedures. I am relieved that they added that little line in there, "...is not subject to forfeiture," to keep the bad cops from "confiscating" to their hearts content without charging anyone.
I have not heard of any issues between this law and State law, which is very draconian, like I have seen fights between Cali and the Feds. I heard of one case when someone passed a joint to a friend in public, and the gov't tried hard to prove their strength, but the case ended up in nothing but a fine.
I even have a friend who was robbed while, hmm..., peddling his wares. He admitted to the cops (I could have slapped him) that it had been pot and drug money that was stolen, but after months he has suffered no ill consequence. Even in the newspaper, the several paragraph story was "Man robbed at gunpoint," and the drug issue was mentioned in one sentence, just that the victim was a dealer and marijuana had also been stolen at the time.
I guess it just surprises me. Here it's all good, and Madison is often been listed in magazines as the best place to...raise a family, get a job, etc., etc.; then in another area marijuana is banned 'cause it's one of the most horrible drugs known to man as far as Drug Warriors are concerned. Then again, logic has never been a strong point of government.