Milwaukee Throws The Book at Illegal Sales of Tobacco, Alcohol, THC to Youths

Neon signage at a smoke shop in Riverwest. Photo by Sophie Bolich.

Those caught selling alcohol, tobacco or THC products to underage buyers will now face significantly larger fines.

On Friday, Ald. Peter Burgelis led the council in updating the city’s fine structure to the maximum allowed under state law.

He said his goal was to make Milwaukee “the most expensive place to sell harmful products to children in the state of Wisconsin.”

The council unanimously passed the change.

“I was shocked that many cities comparable to Milwaukee hold their clerks and stores to much higher standards and more expensive fines for underage sales than Milwaukee does,” Burgelis told the Public Safety & Health Committee on June 11.

The fines in Milwaukee for a first offense for alcohol sales to those under 21 will remain at up to $500, but the lookback period has been extended from 12 to 30 months. A second offense has been raised from a range of $200 to $500 to a fixed $500. A third offense, previously a minimum of $500, was increased to $750 with a maximum of $1,000. The maximum for four or more offenses was boosted from $5,000 to $10,000, while the minimum was maintained at $1,000.

The penalties for selling a hemp-derived THC product were increased to follow a similar schedule, with a minimum of $400 and a maximum of $10,000 — 10 times the prior maximum.

The tobacco penalties remain unchanged, but the definition was expanded to include “nicotine products” such as ZYN pouches. Under state law, the first fine for selling tobacco to a minor is up to $500, and subsequent offenses within a 12-month period carry a $200 to $500 fine. Repeat offenses allow the city to suspend the business’s tobacco sales permit for up to 30 days.

Municipal court judges will set the specific fine within the range prescribed in the ordinances.

“It builds on our action last year prohibiting the sale of hemp-derived products to anyone under the age of 21,” said Burgelis on the council floor on July 31.

The fine structure also comes with the addition of a new definition of an illegal act: straw purchases of tobacco or nicotine products. Max Drickey, Legislative Reference Bureau legislative specialist, said the restriction “strangely didn’t exist.” The city now has explicit language allowing it to cite individuals legally buying the restricted products and reselling them to those under 18. Fines for straw purchases range from $500 for a first offense to up to $10,000 for four or more offenses.

“That was really strange. I didn’t know that didn’t exist,” said Ald. Scott Spiker on July 23.

The ordinance was cosponsored by Marina Dimitrijevic, JoCasta Zamarripa, Lamont Westmoreland, Sharlen P. Moore, Milele A. Coggs, Russell W. Stamper, II, Mark Chambers, Jr., José G. Pérez, Larresa Taylor, Andrea Pratt and DiAndre Jackson.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson signed it into law on Monday.

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