STEVENS POINT — When Ben Kollock first felt a swollen lymph node in his neck in the winter of 2014, he thought he had a routine cold that would pass after a few days of suffering through a runny nose and stuffy head.
But after a visit to the doctor to check it out, Kollock in February learned it was a symptom of something much worse: the then-26-year-old had leukemia, a cancer that attacks the body’s bone marrow and lymphatic system. Doctors detected the disease early, before it had a chance to spread across his body.
Not only did the early detection likely save his life, but it also set him on a course of local activism that resulted in a change of city policy regarding marijuana possession.
The chemotherapy used to fight the disease left Kollock feeling nauseous and anxious. It was culture shock for Kollock, an active person and a forestry student at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, to have to remain in isolation at a Marshfield hospital while doctors worked to rebuild his weakened immune system.
To make matters worse, none of the medications doctors had available treated the nausea and anxiety that the chemotherapy caused in Kollock. Doctors told him they would have prescribed him medical marijuana if it were legal in Wisconsin, he said, but without it, there wasn’t much they could do.
That idea led Kollock to start researching marijuana, and the politics and science that surround it.
Kollock came to believe that the severity of the punishment people face for marijuana possession does not align with the severity of the offense. He wanted to see a reform in how people view marijuana. He decided to start at the local level.
When he was back to health, Kollock approached the Stevens Point City Council, which had decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana in late 2014. The municipal ordinance allowed first-time offenders to receive written citations carrying $300 fines if they were found in possession of up to 5 grams of marijuana.
Kollock thought the fine was unreasonably high for the offense, and requested in conversations and emails with council members that they consider reducing the fine to $100. In a decision this month, the City Council voted 7-4 to slash the fine.
Those who argued against lowering the fine said they were concerned marijuana is a gateway to more illegal activity and that it would send a message that marijuana is more acceptable in the city if the punishment is softened.
The high fine could set people on a bad path, Kollock said, because they may be unable to pay the fine and unable to ever recover from the consequences of an unpaid fine, such as not being allowed to drive.
“It kind of suppresses that person’s ability to get back on their feet, when what we should really do is we should get behind people and help them get on the right path.”
The city reducing its fine is one small victory toward Kollock’s larger goals, he said. Long-term, Kollock said he wants to see marijuana treated like alcohol and tobacco: Adults should be able to decide for themselves if they want to use it.
“We live in a free society, you should make your own educated, informed decision,” he said.
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