Pubdate: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI) Copyright: 2005 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Contact: http://www.jsonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/265 Author: Graeme Zielinski Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) ATTORNEY GENERAL SHUT OUT: WANTS TO SPEAK AT DRUG HEARING "Crank" or Cranky Politics It appears a little bit of both as Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager apparently is being shut out of a Capitol hearing today addressing the growth of methamphetamine use in Wisconsin. The Republican chairing the panel, Rep. Scott Suder (R-Abbotsford) says that Lautenschlager waited too long to ask to speak at the hearing and her late appeals amounted to grandstanding: "This is not about Peg Lautenschlager. This is about methamphetamine." The Democratic attorney general, meanwhile, questioned Suder's assessment, saying she was puzzled that he will be denying her, but accepting the testimony of one of her subordinates: "This is not about me. This is about methamphetamine." The partisan bickering takes place against the backdrop of a growing debate about, well, methamphetamine. The growth in its use in Wisconsin has small towns, particularly in the north and west, struggling with problems associated with addiction common to bigger metropolitan areas. The drug has given new anxieties to officials in the law enforcement, environmental and social services worlds. Lautenschlager has been active in curbing "meth" abuse since her service as U.S. attorney for Wisconsin's western district. As attorney general, she has made appeals for scarce federal funding to curb the powerful and addictive stimulant, sometimes called "crank." Suder had scheduled the public hearing today as part of an effort to coordinate the smattering of efforts, both Democratic and Republican, being made to stanch the drug's spread. In previous interviews, Suder said the hearings were the precursor to the establishment of a legislative task force to write new laws. When he announced the hearings two weeks ago, Suder invited the Justice Department meth initiative special agent in charge, Cindy Giese, to testify, but not her boss. "We wanted to talk to experts in the field, and (Giese) is an expert. . . . I'm not commenting on the attorney general's expertise or lack thereof," said Suder, who denied that the shutout bore a partisan tinge. In a letter Tuesday to Suder, made available to reporters, Lautenschlager said, "Having been denied the courtesy to speak with you on these matters, I can only conclude you are either allowing personal and partisan politics to compromise your committee's mission, or you have been directed by your superiors to prevent my testimony." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake