MIDDLETON, Wis. (WMTV) -- A request to review Middleton's fines for possession of marijuana will be passed on to the city's License and Ordinance Committee after being addressed at Common Council on Tuesday night.

Representatives from Madison's branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) addressed the council with statistics and anecdotes supporting the decriminalization of marijuana -- and the benefits of reducing local penalties. One of the benefits they mentioned was relief for people using pot for medical reasons. That includes NORML advocate Shelley Kennedy, who says pot helps her manage her MS symptoms.

"I use cannabis medicinally, and before I kind of felt like I was a criminal because of the ordinance that they had in place," Kennedy says of the ordinance she fought with NORML in her hometown of Monona.

"Now, I don't feel like a criminal anymore because I'm not committing a crime anymore in the eyes of the city."

From Monona to Middleton, NORML is looking to normalize pot use. Representatives say they want to debunk rumors about the dangers of marijuana in the general public. In 2015, they approached Middleton Police to ask for a fine reduction -- and they got one, from 281 dollars to 187 for a first possession offense.

But reducing the fines much further would be akin to enforcing decriminalization, says Middleton Police Administrative Captain Steve Britt.

"I've heard of municipalities in other places that have made the fines a dollar. In essence, what you're doing at that point is simply saying we're not going to enforce it," says Britt.

He adds that his department studies the effects of lowered possession fees on other cities and towns, as well as observing new research on crime in states that have legalized marijuana. Middleton's current fine was initially dropped to match the city's penalty for underage alcohol possession, a decision he believes reflected public opinion. But the research he's seen doesn't convince his department that the fine needs to go any lower.

"If the state of Wisconsin chooses to legalize marijuana, obviously we will enforce those laws. But the city of Middleton doesn't have the ability, the authority or I believe the political desire to try to legalize marijuana," Britt says.

After listening to two NORML advocates during public comment, the council agreed to ask the License and Ordinance Committee to examine the current fines on Tuesday, June 13 at 6 PM.

Copyright: WMTV 2017