Due to a lack of staff resources, people caught with less than 25 grams of marijuana will no longer be criminally charged by the Dane County district attorney.

Those caught can still receive a substantial fine — up to $1,000 — but will not be charged for possession.

"This is not an absolutely new policy," Assistant District Attorney Mike Verveer said. "We actually have been following this policy in an informal way for quite some time in our office."

But District Attorney Brian Blanchard made this announcement to police chiefs throughout Dane County for the first time this weekend.

"Minor possession of marijuana is not as much of a serious offense as so much of the other business the district has to deal with," said Keith Findley, law professor at the University of Wisconsin and co-director of the Wisconsin Innocence Project and the Criminal Appeals Project.

Because the District Attorney's office has seen an increase lately in the number of sexual assaults and violent crime in the downtown and campus area, Blanchard said the office is prioritizing what crimes they will prosecute, according to The Associated Press.

"For quite some time now we really have been charging very few marijuana cases," Verveer said.

Charges will still be filed for people possessing more than 25 grams of marijuana, and criminal charges could still be filed for people possessing less than 25 grams if they had committed other offenses.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.