Pubdate: Tue, 28 Mar 2006
Source: Monroe Times (WI)
Copyright: 2006 Monroe Publishing LLC
Contact:  http://www.themonroetimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4064
Author: Brian Gray
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

SHOOTING DEATHS FOCUS ATTENTION ON DRUG PROBLEMS IN THE REGION

MONROE -- Marijuana is still the drug of choice in  Green and
Lafayette counties, according to local  authorities.

Green County Sheriff Randy Roderick describes marijuana  as a
"gateway" drug: People who move on to harder  drugs, such as cocaine,
often start with marijuana.

Roderick points to a government report issued March 14,  that says
"research shows that regular or heavy  marijuana use was associated
with using a wider variety  of other illicit drugs and with abuse or
dependence on  other illicit drugs.

"Far from being a 'benign' substance, marijuana is a  dangerous,
addictive drug that is frequently the first  step of life-long drug
addiction."

Green and Lafayette counties' drug problems are neither  better nor
worse than those occurring throughout the  rest of the state and
nation, authorities say.

"I think society as a whole has a problem with drugs,"  State Line
Area Narcotics Team (SLANT) Master Sgt.  Harry Wellbank said. SLANT
includes both Green and  Lafayette sheriff's departments as well as
law  enforcement agencies from the Rock County sheriffs'  department,
the Monroe, Janesville and Beloit police  departments, the Illinois
State Police, the Boone  County, Ill., sheriff's department and the
Freeport and  Loves Park, Ill., police departments.

But the local drug scene has raised concerns in the  wake of a double
homicide and suicide in Lafayette  County earlier this month.

During an investigation into the shooting of three  people March 16,
police found $450,000 worth of drugs  at the rural residence located
between Argyle and  Blanchardville where the deaths occurred. As a
result  of that investigation, on March 17, SLANT agents found  11
marijuana plants growing in a crawl space in the  Paul A. Olsen Sr.
and Carol A. Olsen residence near  Belleville. They also found 1,110
grams of marijuana  dried and stored in bags in a bedroom and attic
crawl  space and 670 grams of marijuana which was drying in a 
basement crawl space at the Olsen home. The Olsens face  more than 19
years in prison and more than $45,000 in  fines, if convicted. They
remain free on $5,000  signature bonds.

Green County Chief Deputy Jeff Skatrud said there was  little
suspicion about either group growing marijuana  before the shooting
investigation. That's common, he  said.

"People growing marijuana in their houses are usually  decent
neighbors who you'd never suspect. They aren't  controversial. They
don't want to bring suspicion to  themselves," Skatrud said.

Wellbank said people involved in drugs tend to live in  the same
location for a number of years because they've  invested a lot of time
and effort into making their  homes undetectable.

"It's inconvenient to move around too often," he said.  "They have a
lot of time involved. Often times they  have fake walls within their
houses to conceal their  growing operation."

But when neighbors or law enforcement do get an idea  something is
going on a drug raid can result in a large  amount of drugs being seized.

Wellbank said it is debatable whether drugs are more  prevalent now
than in the past, or if law enforcement  is just more effective at
combating the problem.

Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley said there has been a  greater
emphasis on making arrests and that may make it  appear more people
are using and selling drugs.

Skatrud said in 2005 drug arrests actually went down  from 20 to 16,
although the amount of drugs seized  increased.

"There were 190 pounds of marijuana seized in 2005," he  said. And, he
said, the drugs seized are more potent  than they were 25 or 30 years
ago.

"Marijuana today is probably 1,000 times more potent  than it was in
the 1970s," Wellbank said. "People used  to smoke the leaves. Now they
use the buds on the  plants to make a stronger form. And marijuana is
more  expensive than it used to be. And when it becomes more 
expensive people tend to try to protect it more."

Another reason marijuana is stronger now than it used  to be is that
it is homegrown -- people who make  marijuana are more careful to
cultivate it and protect  it to get a stronger product to sell.

Along with a more potent form of marijuana, another  challenge in the
drug war is society's mobility.

"Monroe is a way post on along the pipeline," Kelley  said. "The
source cities are elsewhere."

Source cities include Madison, Rockford, Beloit and  Freeport, the law
officers said. Because of close  proximity to those cities drugs come
through both  counties.

Probably the most challenging aspect in the area's  efforts to combat
drugs is the lack of federal money to  SLANT in 2006. In 2000 SLANT
received about $100,000  from the federal government. In 2006 the
agency will  not receive any money from the federal government.

Advertising campaigns linked terrorism to drugs  following the attacks
on Sept. 11, 2001, but money to  fight drugs is being used for other
things, Skatrud  said.

"The war in Iraq and the hurricane are drying up our  resources," he
said.

"Local law enforcement agencies are expected to do more  with less,"
Roderick added.

Money to combat drug use will have to come from local  law enforcement
budgets.

"The SLANT agents are trying to save money where they  can," Wellbank
said. "They're trying to forge ahead.  Many of them are juggling their
schedules and working  without getting overtime pay."

Kelley said drug education is a good way to help  prevent drug use,
but noted that is a slow process.

"We have to somehow change the way people think of  drugs -- all drugs
- -- and that even includes alcohol,"  he said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin