Across Wisconsin, there were more than 17,000 arrests for marijuana possession and more than 1,800 arrests for marijuana sales in 2018. Arrest and conviction records can make it harder to get jobs, professional licenses, housing, financial aid for higher education and government assistance. Here, a 23-year-old Madison, Wis., resident smokes a joint in a downtown apartment on March 31, 2019. (Emily Hamer, Wisconsin Watch) The police officer stopped 18-year-old “Michael” as he pulled out of a central Wisconsin bowling alley one day in 1997, driving an old model Chrysler New Yorker Fifth Avenue. “Where’s the pot?” asked the officer, who had been tipped off to Michael’s bag of marijuana. Michael handed over the eighth of an ounce of cannabis he was carrying — enough for about seven joints — and the officer booked him for marijuana possession. The officer also asked where Michael worked. He was on “Christmas layoff” from his job at a window factory, expecting to return to work after the holidays. But Michael soon received a letter notifying him that he had violated the company’s drug-free policy. He lost his job even before he was convicted. Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing! Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers favors decriminalizing the possession, sale or manufacture of 25 grams or less of marijuana. The move comes as a growing swath of Wisconsin’s population favors legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana for at least some uses. Here, a 23-year-old Madison, Wis., resident lights a joint in a downtown apartment on March 31, 2019. (Emily Hamer/Wisconsin Watch) Michael was sentenced to 18 months of probation and a six-month driver’s license suspension for misdemeanor marijuana possession. It set off years of consequences, including what Michael described as “a life of petty crime.” He asked that his identity be shielded in this story — Michael is a pseudonym — because he fears the social and professional stigma of having criminal convictions. “The record,” he said, “just follows you forever and ever and ever.” The Cannabis Question is a series exploring questions about proposals to legalize marijuana in Wisconsin. Related story: ‘I’m still discriminated against’: Wisconsin lawmakers propose easing burdens on marijuana offenders Twenty years after that fateful event, Wisconsin’s governor would like to change the laws that led to Michael’s arrest. Gov. Tony Evers favors decriminalizing the possession, sale or manufacture of 25 grams or less of marijuana — about seven times more than Michael had at his 1997 arrest. In fact, Evers would like to eliminate all penalties — including fines — for possession under 25 grams. That plan is unique; according to an April report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to researching and evaluating policy statewide. All of the 13 states that have already decriminalized, but not legalized, marijuana impose some penalty — usually a fine — for possession. Gov. Tony Evers proposed in his budget legalizing medical marijuana and decriminalizing the possession, sale or manufacture of 25 grams or less of marijuana, measures that were removed by the Republican-run Legislature. A bipartisan bill proposal to legalize medical marijuana is now before lawmakers. Evers is seen here during his inauguration ceremony at the Wisconsin State Capitol on Jan. 7, 2019. (Emily Hamer / Wisconsin Watch) The move comes as a growing swath of Wisconsin’s population favors legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana for at least some uses. Last year, voters in 18 Wisconsin communities passed non-binding referenda calling for legalization or decriminalization. But the Republican-run Legislature eliminated Evers’ decriminalization plan when it passed the current two-year budget. Across Wisconsin, there were more than 17,000 arrests for marijuana possession and more than 1,800 arrests for marijuana sales in 2018, together accounting for 61% of the state’s drug arrests for the year, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The consequences of those arrests can be long-lasting. Arrest and conviction records can make it harder to get jobs, professional licenses, housing, financial aid for higher education and government assistance. Felony convictions can bar a person from serving on a jury or, in some states, voting. The American Bar Association’s National Inventory of the Collateral Consequences of Conviction lists 641 negative consequences of nonviolent drug convictions. A U.S. Government Accountability Office review found that more than three-fourths of them “can potentially last a lifetime.” Wisconsin Gov.