Dear Editor: I would just like to say thanks for reporting on Ben Masel's treatment by police at the Union Terrace. I was sitting within earshot of this embarrassing fiasco involving two UW-Madison police officers and Masel at the Union Terrace last week. I happened to look over and see two cops approach Masel and was baffled, to say the least, when I saw them suddenly grab him, whip him around and shoot pepper spray less than 5 inches from his eyes. As they proceeded to push him down on the concrete with unwarranted force, I found myself wishing these young power-hungry officers would spend more time "serving and protecting" their country by honoring a peaceful exercise in democracy rather than trying their hardest to re-create an episode of "Cops" in the middle of a show. They created much more of a disturbance than Masel, who had been standing quietly in the same place all night. [end]
For the second time in six years, Jerry Hartman has to find a new way to make a living. When foot ailments made it impossible for Hartman to continue working as a machinist in 2000 after 25 years on the job, he learned how to grow marijuana and sold it to a few of his friends. "Unfortunately, Jerry was too good at growing marijuana and he realized financial profit," a consultant hired by an attorney for Hartman said in a recent memorandum filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court. "When he purchased land to grow the marijuana, both the plants and his profits flourished." [continues 712 words]
Summerfest draws mostly from the Milwaukee area, but 59% of those taken into custody at the Big Gig are out-of-towners Though Summerfest draws music lovers from across the country, it's still primarily a Milwaukee-area event - except when it comes to who gets arrested. Of the 298 people arrested at Summerfest through Thursday, 177, or 59%, live outside the five-county Milwaukee metro area, according to Milwaukee police. "They may be a little more brazen than some of our local residents," said Lt. Anthony Smith, who runs the Summerfest command post. "People in Milwaukee have a little more familiarity with how we conduct things around here." [continues 530 words]
Metro-area police chiefs have taken a fair amount of heat over their recent efforts to enforce underage alcohol sales laws. If you're one of the people upset that they're targeting those who sell beer to minors, ask yourself this: If they were using the same tactics to go after drug dealers, would you still be angry? There's a reason we pose that question -- and that we keep returning to this topic. A study published last week in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol found that four times as many minors die of alcohol abuse every year as die from all illegal drugs combined. [continues 567 words]
Somewhere within the messy American intersection of gender, adolescence, sex, drugs and cultural messages, researchers have located what they are carefully defining as an "association": Sexual activity and experimentation with illicit substances may put a teenage girl at significantly greater risk for depression than a teenage boy who engages in the same behaviors. This research also takes the widely held perception that teens who are depressed engage in risky behaviors as acts of "self-medication," and suggests that depression can also be the consequence, not just the cause, of experimentation our culture regards as both morally deviant and normal. [continues 1963 words]
Milwaukee Police Detective Accused of Enticing, Having Sex With High School Boy A detective has been charged with child enticement, accused of having sex with a boy several times, the most recent Milwaukee Police Department member charged with a crime. Ahmad W. Majeed, 47, was charged Saturday with child enticement-exposing a sex organ, according to a criminal complaint. If convicted of the felony, Majeed would face up to 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Majeed was arrested by a Milwaukee internal affairs police detective on Friday. He was suspended the same day, said Anne E. Schwartz, department spokeswoman. Majeed continues to be paid per state law. [continues 207 words]
Several public schools in western Wisconsin will receive state money this month to fund alcohol and other drug abuse programs. Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau schools received $50,000 for its program. The district will use the money to teach staff and students about alcohol and drug abuse, said Sandy Nelson, bookkeeper and office manager. It also brings in speakers, hosts tutors and various programming throughout the year. The district has been receiving this aid -- for which it must apply each year -- since the 2002-03 school year. Alma and Arcadia received grants for tobacco control programs in their schools. Alma received $5,000. Arcadia, in a group with Holmen and White-hall schools, received $15,000. They are among 25 Wisconsin districts that have been awarded grants for the tobacco program. [end]
For as long as anyone can remember, candidates for public office have circulated their nominating petitions on the Memorial Union Terrace. Packed with Wisconsinites, most of them in a mellow mood, the terrace is an ideal spot for would-be contenders to gather the signatures they need to earn a place on local and statewide ballots. So why was one of Madison's most experienced candidates pepper-sprayed, arrested and charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest for the "crime" of being on the terrace circulating petitions for his race for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate? [continues 239 words]
MADISON - UW-Madison Police arrested Ben Masel, an activist and potential U.S. Senate candidate, around 11 p.m. Thursday at the Memorial Union Terrace while he collected signatures to place his name on the 2006 ballot. Masel, who the police pepper-sprayed before arresting him, received citations for disorderly conduct, resisting a police officer and trespassing, and remaining after noticed to leave, all misdemeanors, said UW-Madison Police Lt. Bill Larson. This is not the first time Masel has run into trouble with the authorities. His record of court appearances date back to 1982, however, some of those cases ended in his favor. One incident involved Masel winning a $95,000 settlement from Sauk County after police arrested him at during the 2000 Weedstock festival. [continues 403 words]
Five years ago, Ben Masel was hauled off a train and jailed in Kansas City, Mo., for telling two young passengers they did not have to consent to a police search. The police in 2001 called it obstruction. This month Masel, through his attorney Jeff Scott Olson, is calling it a violation of his constitutional rights and is making it a federal case. The suit, filed June 12 in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, seeks punitive damages against the Kansas City police and demands a jury trial. [continues 280 words]
UW-Madison Police arrested Ben Masel, an activist and potential U.S. Senate candidate, around 11 p.m. Thursday at the Memorial Union Terrace while he collected signatures to place his name on the 2006 ballot. The police pepper-sprayed Masel before arresting him and issued him citations for disorderly conduct, resisting a police officer and trespassing, and remaining after noticed to leave, all misdemeanors, said UW-Madison Police Lt. Bill Larson. This is not the first time Masel has run into trouble with authorities. One incident involved Masel winning a $95,000 settlement from Sauk County after police arrested him during the 2000 Weedstock festival. [continues 467 words]
University police confronted Ben Masel, longtime local activist and current U.S. Senate hopeful, while he was circulating nomination papers on the Memorial Union Terrace Thursday night. After a brief struggle, he was pepper-sprayed, arrested, and charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, then released. Masel says he's being singled out. Several politicians confirmed today in interviews they have used the terrace to solicit signatures, including both Democratic candidates for secretary of state. Incumbent Doug La Follette said today he's been at the terrace "four or five lunch hours" this year soliciting signatures and was never asked to leave. [continues 551 words]
Vying With Mahoney In Democratic Primary Law enforcement administrator Robbie Lowery announced his candidacy for Dane County sheriff this morning in front of the Madison Municipal Building. A group of about 20 people attended, including friends and community leaders. "My mission is to provide Dane County with law enforcement services it needs," Lowery said. "We must reach out to leaders, educators, social workers and young people." Lowery will be running in a democratic primary against veteran Dane County sheriff's detective Dave Mahoney. The winner of the primary will face Republican candidate Mike Hanson, a Dane County supervisor and Madison Police Department spokesman, to replace retiring Sheriff Gary Hamblin in the November election. [continues 304 words]
IT IS rarely a good idea to argue the fine points of freedom of assembly and expression with Ben Masel, the longtime Madison political gadfly who is now in his 50s but showing no sign of slowing down. Masel has cashed checks from cities across the country after being wrongly arrested for distributing leaflets or counseling others on their right to demonstrate or not submit to a search. Early Tuesday morning, Masel, who is attempting to run for the U.S. Senate in the Democratic primary against incumbent Herb Kohl, took a phone call from a campaign volunteer who was gathering signatures at the Truax Madison Area Technical College. [continues 247 words]
New U.S. Attorney Erik Peterson knew the question was coming, but laughed and plunged into an answer. Yes, he's in a rock band with two other prosecutors. But no, he's not quitting his day job. Peterson, 36, who is settling into his first weeks as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin after 7 years as Iowa County's district attorney, moonlights as the drummer for a '70s and '80s cover band called Alibi, which he said plays a lot of benefit gigs. His band mates include Brad Schimel, assistant district attorney in Waukesha County, and Randy Schneider, assistant district attorney in Racine County. Their lead singer is Heather Zander, community development director for the city of Brillion. [continues 995 words]
Regarding Tom Pittman's thoughtful letter: "What about alcohol? It's dangerous too" (Tribune, June 20). What about coffee? I had a friend who used to boast that he drank at least 25 cups of coffee a day. Unfortunately, he died of a heart attack when he was in his mid-40s. Shouldn't coffee be criminalized? And what about doughnuts? If we eat 25 doughnuts a day, we won't be long for this world. Obviously, coffee is a gateway to doughnuts Mesa, Ariz. [end]
Couple and former deputy accused of running a smuggling operation Old Village Road in the Town of Genesee is roughly 2,000 miles from the border, but state and federal investigators see it as the starting point for a Mexico to Madison marijuana smuggling operation that could send a young couple and a sheriff's deputy-turned-drug-trafficker to prison for as long as 40 years. This, authorities say, is how it worked: Every five weeks or so, Heather Lane and Jason Carr left their home on Old Village Road, got into a rental car with their young child and pit bull terrier and headed for the border. They'd stop in Nogales, Ariz., check into a motel and hook up with a man who smuggled marijuana across the border through a tunnel. [continues 984 words]
La Crosse County's new marijuana ordinance is not a slippery slope toward decriminalization of drug use. Instead, it's a way to give law enforcement another option in dealing with first-time offenders caught with small amounts of marijuana. La Crosse County Board members passed the new county ordinance at their meeting last week. It allows first-time marijuana possession of small amounts of the drug to be treated as a county ordinance violation - amounting in a fine, but not a criminal record - instead of a state criminal charge for misdemeanor possession. [continues 317 words]
Dane County has not seen an open contest for the job of sheriff in many years. But the retirement of Sheriff Gary Hamblin, who was appointed to his position by former Gov. Tommy Thompson and then regularly re-elected, has created just such an opening, and an impressive group of candidates is stepping up to fill Dane County's chief law enforcement post. In heavily Democratic Dane County, veteran Sheriff's Detective Dave Mahoney probably ranks as the front-runner. Not only is Mahoney a Democrat, he announced his campaign this week at a rally that featured a who's who of local party leaders, including former Gov. Tony Earl, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and County Board Chairman Scott McDonell. [continues 405 words]
Tom Pittman, La Crosse Fritz Leinfelder's statement May 10, addresses his opinion that most hard drug users started by first using marijuana. Which is his opinion? Pot use leads to hard drug use? Most people in our county jails are there on alcohol-related offenses, not for marijuana turning them into hard drug addicts. Fritz, you're a good guy, but ask those people arrested for pot use if they first started with the most dangerous drug known to man - alcohol! Ask the hard drug user if he started with alcohol, too! Alcohol has been used as a painkiller for centuries! Yes, alcohol is a dangerous, mood-altering substance that leads many to crime, violence and irrational decisions, hurting many. Stop and smell the roses, Fritz. [end]
Marcus J. Gumz, 77, a rural Baraboo farmer and frequent political candidate whose irascible, yet joyful, approach to controversy added color to Wisconsin politics for decades, died Friday in his town of Fairfield farmhouse. Gumz ran for public office so often that he was most often referred to in press accounts as "perennial candidate Marcus J. Gumz." He was that. But he was also a successful farmer who raised mint, potatoes, hogs, beef cattle and corn on more than 2,000 acres in Sauk and Columbia Counties, though even his farming sometimes caused controversy. [continues 287 words]
FAIRFIELD - Those that had the chance to talk with Marcus Gumz rarely forgot the experience, whether he was railing against unfair government practices or chatting about his latest mint crop. Gumz and his hearty chuckle passed into area legend Friday after he died at the farmhouse where he and his wife raised their eight children. The long time political activist and progressive farming advocate was 77. His wife Norma passed away in 1988. Born in Denham, Ind. on Aug. 23, 1928, Gumz was probably best known in these parts for his vocal political stands, including lawsuits against the county, and his frequent runs for public office. In recent months, he had been gathering signatures to run for U.S. Senate against Herb Kohl. [continues 671 words]
BARABOO, Wis. - Marcus Gumz, a muck farmer who tangled with authorities over the right to control his land and became a perennial political candidate under the slogan "Stick with Gumz," has died at the age of 77, his family said. Gumz died Friday in the same town of Fairfield farmhouse where he and his late wife Norma raised eight children, according to a statement released by his daughter Jondi Gumz. Gumz, active in the Republican Party, was gathering signatures to run this year for U.S. Senate against incumbent Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl. [continues 478 words]
La Crosse County authorities have the option of issuing citations and fining people found with small amounts of marijuana, instead of charging them with a misdemeanor. The La Crosse County Board has adopted an ordinance that allows lesser penalties for people accused of possessing under 25 grams of the drug for the first time. The debate Thursday included testimony from the district attorney, a judge and the sheriff. District Attorney Scott Horne argued against the measure, saying the current system identifies problem offenders early, before they move on to more serious drug abuse and criminal behavior and does not taint their records if they follow court-ordered education and community-service programs. [continues 131 words]
The La Crosse County Board last week passed a marijuana ordinance that would allow some low-risk, first-time offenders to be issued a citation and fine instead of facing criminal charges for possession of 25 grams or less of the drug. The new ordinance raised many questions. Here are some answers: Q. How many people are cited for first-time minor marijuana possession in La Crosse County courts each year? A. 348 in 2005 and 307 in 2004, said Scott Horne, La Crosse County District Attorney. [continues 570 words]
Dear Editor: John Nichols' June 15 column, "GOP loses out by snubbing Redick," noted "There was something attractive about the prospect of fall debates among Republican Redick, Green Party candidate Rae Vogeler and Democratic U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl." But we know Senator Kohl does not do debates. Herb Kohl has not, per the state Elections Board's Web site, filed a declaration of candidacy, the step that makes one a candidate for the open U.S. Senate seat from Wisconsin. [continues 67 words]
A new La Crosse County ordinance would send criminal charges up in smoke for low-risk offenders busted with under 25 grams - a little less than an ounce - of marijuana. At a Thursday meeting, the county board voted 15-12 to pass the ordinance, which would send first-time offenders away with a citation and fine instead of a misdemeanor charge. The vote followed nearly two hours of debate that included testimony from the district attorney, a judge and the county sheriff - and a few moments of levity that would please Cheech and Chong. [continues 422 words]
A former Dane County sheriff's deputy, arrested Wednesday after his town of Dunn home was raided by police, employed a Waukesha County couple to bring hundreds of pounds of marijuana from Arizona to Wisconsin, according to an affidavit filed in federal court in Milwaukee. Robert A. Lowery, 57, along with Jason J. Carr, 25, and Heather R. Lane, 26, both of the town of Genesee, was charged Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee with conspiring to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana. All three remained in custody Thursday in Milwaukee after appearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Aaron Goodstein. [continues 698 words]
Village of Hartland - A 27-year-old woman is facing possible charges for allegedly using heroin in front of her young daughter. Police are recommending the woman be charged by the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office with child neglect. According to the police report, the woman's 8-year-old daughter told police that she had seen her mother use a syringe numerous times, including one time about a month ago at a McDonald's restaurant in Milwaukee. The girl told police her mother took her into the restroom and made her watch the bathroom door as she injected a needle into her arm while sitting in a stall, the report said. [continues 139 words]
Department Will Pay for Medical Expenses Jackson - Falko, the Jackson Police Department's dog, has been limping since early May because he has a bone chip in his right front leg. The 5-year-old German shepherd needs surgery and is expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks, said his handler, Officer Todd Fristed. The dog has been an extremely valuable member of the department, Fristed said. "He sniffs out narcotics," he said. "He is an aggressive indicating dog, which means he will bite, scratch or bark when he smells the odor of narcotics, which includes cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and marijuana." [continues 334 words]
Crime Lab Says Teens Didn't Have Khat, a Drug Popular in Middle East MERRILL -- An analysis of evidence seized in a recent drug bust has law enforcement officials scratching their heads, while four suspected drug dealers face reduced charges. Members of the Wausau Police Department's K9 Unit found eight containers of marijuana, two electronic scales and what they thought was khat, a type of amphetamine, during a search of a vehicle June 3 on Highway 64 outside of Merrill. [continues 314 words]
A June 1 guest column, "Lawmakers need to listen up," stated: "The majority of Americans want their physicians, not politicians, to decide if marijuana should be used to ease suffering in sick patients." Isn't this true with any medicinal drug? All controlled substances are placed under one of five schedules. The Drug Enforcement Administration, not doctors, decides which substances are prohibited. Both marijuana and heroin are on schedule one, which, according to the DEA, has no medical use. If marijuana has medical use, it stands to reason that heroin has medical use. In the United Kingdom, heroin can be prescribed by doctors to relieve severe pain. Heroin has also been found to be effective with terminally ill cancer patients. If people want their doctors, and not the DEA, to decide what is medicine and what is not, this should apply to "all" medicine, not just marijuana. Randy Vizyak Mukwonago [end]
It was disappointing to read in Tuesday's paper that the landlord of a local all-ages alcohol-free music venue yanked its lease in response to allegations of off-premises cannabis smoking and other reasons. What Madison really needs are alcohol-free, adult-only venues where cannabis can be consumed on site. Hardly a day goes by when we don't read of some alcohol-fueled incident that caused injury, death or destruction. The same day this article appeared there was an update on the case of a man with a lingering brain injury from an unprovoked attack that was likely alcohol-related. [continues 77 words]
Madison all-ages club Journey Music closed abruptly during a show Friday night, but the alcohol-free performance space will remain open for at least another week and likely much longer. Headlining act Madison band Apparently Nothing, was shocked when Journey manager and concert promoter Tom Klein told the group the club was being shut down immediately by property owner Bob Sieger - moments before the band's set. "It was like, 'Is this a joke?' " said singer and guitarist Aaron Shekey, 20. [continues 255 words]
In the national debate over the use of marijuana for medical purposes, ordinary people and their representatives in Congress seem to be living on different planets. Poll after poll shows Americans, by a huge majority, want their doctors, not lawmakers, to decide if marijuana should be used as a medicine. Today, however, federal laws prohibit physicians from prescribing marijuana for pain relief even where state and local laws say it is OK to do so. This has not always been the case. [continues 429 words]
Swallowing dope or other contraband won't hide it anymore. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that Milwaukee police officers were justified in using laxatives to search a man who had swallowed a bag of heroin during a 2002 drug bust. The decision found that police did not violate Tomas Payano-Roman's constitutional rights against unreasonable search by forcing him to drink a laxative called GoLytely every 20 to 30 minutes until the drugs came out. In its 5 to 2 decision, the court said the laxative use was acceptable because it was carried out under medical supervision and met dual medical-treatment and evidence-gathering purposes. Dissenting, Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson said the evidence should not have been allowed since police didn't get a search warrant. [continues 87 words]
Man, 20, had faced up to 10 years after Mequon police found dirt bins, heaters Port Washington - A felony drug-trafficking charge against a 20-year-old Mequon man who police said ran an elaborate marijuana-growing operation in the attic of his parents' house was reduced Monday to a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession. Ozaukee County Judge Joseph D. McCormack found Erick J. Schuchard guilty on Monday of two counts of marijuana possession and one count of possessing drug paraphernalia. [continues 526 words]
Members of a drug task force burst into a Dodgeville apartment Monday night and arrested two people before officers realized that they were in the wrong apartment. Richland-Iowa-Grant Drug Task Force members entered the apartment about 10:15 p.m. and arrested its two occupants in what police considered a "high-risk" drug bust, according to the Dodgeville Police Department. Minutes later, they realized that they were in the wrong place and released the occupants. The officers then headed to the right apartment, where they arrested four people after discovering marijuana and drug paraphernalia, police said. [continues 96 words]
Madison - Alfonso Graham, a former assistant Milwaukee police chief who is in charge of the state Justice Department's anti-marijuana program, was named chairman of the state Parole Commission on Thursday. Graham replaced Lenard Wells, who resigned last week. A Milwaukee police officer for 27 years, Wells had been criticized for approving the parole of two men convicted in the 1975 slaying of an off-duty Milwaukee officer. Graham was appointed by Gov. Jim Doyle to head the eight-member commission that determines whether paroles should be granted prisoners who committed felonies before the end of 1999. Parole was abolished after that by a truth-in-sentencing law. Graham will start his new job June 5, and his term will end on March 1. He will leave his current post to take the Parole Commission job. He will earn $70,000 a year in the new post. [end]
Drug Force Apologetic For Raid Error Profuse apologies and promises of restitution, repair and investigation were made by officials Wednesday in the wake of a botched drug raid at a Dodgeville apartment building. A six-agency illegal drug task force on Monday initially broke into the wrong apartment and handcuffed an innocent couple as they were preparing to retire for the night. After officers realized their error, they eventually took four people into custody at the adjacent apartment. The two people who were released resided at 512 Montgomery St., Apt. 4. The intended raid target was Apt. 3, said Lt. Scott Marquardt, director of the Richland-Iowa-Grant Drug Task Force and a member of the Platteville Police Department. [continues 548 words]
Drinking Declines in Survey of Green Bay-Area Students Although fewer area students say they are smoking or using alcohol, experts say more are popping prescription pills. Surveys of Green Bay metro area students are showing good things: The number of high school seniors drinking on a regular basis in 2004 was 50 percent, down from 60 percent in 2002, according to Mary Miceli-Wink, an alcohol- and drug-abuse counselor with the Brown County Human Services Department. "A regular basis" is defined as at least once a month. And the use of marijuana also is down. [continues 861 words]
A drug charge was filed Monday against a friend of a 20- year-old woman found dead last week of an apparent heroin overdose at a Downtown apartment. Kellie M.L. Prager, 20, who has been living with friends in Madison but lists her address as South Bend, Ind., told Madison police that she and Elise Schnitzler obtained heroin from a dealer in exchange for sex the night before Schnitzler was found dead at 314 S. Hamilton St., according to a criminal complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court. [continues 395 words]
Not counting his juvenile record, 23-year-old Ben Stibbe has had more than 50 encounters with the legal system, police and court records show. But the Grafton man's lengthy record of petty crimes - underage drinking and stealing items, ranging from booze to DVDs - masks a stunningly destructive past that has contributed to three people dying from drug overdoses in 3 1/2 years, prosecutors, police and parents say. Until Angela Raettig died of a heroin overdose in her Cedarburg home, Stibbe had never been charged with anything more than a misdemeanor. But now Stibbe is charged with first-degree reckless homicide in the 17-year-old girl's death and faces up to 40 years in prison if he is found guilty at trial next month. [continues 967 words]
With the arrival of spring, I am reminded of impending high school graduations and the hope for our youth to grow and blossom into responsible adults. Many of these impending graduates will be going off to college with a hope of getting the education and training necessary to prosper. However, over 2,800 students in Wisconsin alone have been denied one of their best opportunities at the good life, due to youthful indiscretion and a drug offense on their permanent record. In our great society drug offenders are jailed and excluded from federal student financial aid programs. [continues 153 words]
MADISON, Wis. -- Police were within their rights when they forced a drug suspect to drink a laxative in hopes of recovering a bag of heroin he had swallowed, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The laxative was reasonable because police had a clear expectation it would help reveal evidence of a crime, the court ruled in reversing a state appeals court decision. The laxative also may have reduced the danger Tomas Payano-Roman would have faced had the bag ruptured in his body, the high court's decision said. [continues 447 words]
LA Crosse County Prosecutors Soon Might Have Another Option For First-Time Marijuana Offenders. Whether they'd use it is another matter. The county board's Judiciary and Law Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend a new county ordinance against marijuana that could be used instead of tougher state laws. But District Attorney Scott Horne, who couldn't attend the committee meeting, told the Tribune earlier Tuesday, "We won't use it." Tuesday's vote came after a vigorous debate between the county's Drug Court judge, a prosecutor, a drug investigator and county supervisors about current marijuana prosecution and diversion practices. [continues 230 words]
Port Washington - Cedarburg teenager Caitlin Schuette pleaded guilty Tuesday to helping provide heroin to a friend, Angela Raettig, 17, resulting in Raettig's overdose death. Schuette's guilty plea to one count of first-degree reckless homicide by delivery of drugs represents the first conviction in a series of heroin cases in Ozaukee County in the past 6 months. Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Joseph D. McCormack set Oct. 9 for sentencing Schuette, 17, who was charged in December under the state's so-called "Len Bias law." [continues 315 words]
BISMARCK, N.D. - North Dakota is pushing ahead with plans to license state farmers to grow industrial hemp even as it tries to allay law enforcement fears about marijuana's biological cousin. State Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson and his department are crafting hemp rules after meeting in February with Drug Enforcement Agency officials in Washington. A public hearing on the proposed rules is slated for June 15. The rules would require a criminal background check on farmers who want to grow hemp. The sale of hemp and location of the hemp fields must be documented. And the farmer must get a permit from the DEA. [continues 536 words]
Methamphetamine cases appear to be on the rise in La Crosse County, with more than 20 cases prosecuted in 2005 and no signs of decline this year, officials in the district attorneyis office said. County Assistant District Attorney Todd Bjerke said 22 meth cases were prosecuted last year, on felony charges that included possession, manufacture and delivery of the drug. While 2003 and 2004 statistics were unavailable, Bjerke said heis definitely seen an increase in meth-related crimes in the past two years. [continues 213 words]
The numbers are staggering. About 620 charges, more than 300 criminal complaints, nearly 160 defendants -- all part of the largest drug bust in Wood County history. Arrests began Monday and are expected to continue for the next few weeks. That's particularly eye-catching because the county typically has 500 criminal complaints in an entire year. Authorities think this two-week arrest operation is going to net more than half that number. Wood County Sheriff Thomas Reichert called the mass arrests unprecedented in central Wisconsin. [continues 414 words]
Inside Wisconsin
