A Baraboo man will serve 12 months of probation after investigators say he had 25 pounds of pot shipped to him from Texas. William J. Larsen, 51, also will spend 30 days in jail plus 30 months of probation for a more recent pot possession count after his sentencing Wednesday. Larsen appeared in Sauk County Circuit Court on a count of felony possession of marijuana with intent to deliver based on an incident in March 2006. He also faced a misdemeanor pot possession charge stemming from an arrest in June. [continues 229 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]
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]
Another reason to stop caging humans for using cannabis (Letter: Support Marijuana For Medical Patients, Sept. 23 issue), is because it would be biblically correct. It is no accident Christ, God, The Ecologician, created seed-bearing plants and said they are good on the Bible's first page. The only biblical restriction is that it be used with thanksgiving. (I Timothy 4:1-5). The cost of cannabis prohibition is higher than the buzz. Stan White, The Green Collar Worker, Dillon, Colo. [end]
Will oppressive political bureaucracy prevail over medical necessity in Wisconsin when it comes to medical cannabis? There are currently 11 states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington which have passed laws exempting patients who use cannabis under a physician's supervision from state criminal penalties. Sick and dying individuals should never have to live in fear of their government especially for people using a "crude agricultural product, that has been used as a medicine for thousands of years. [continues 74 words]
TOWN OF LODI - More than a half-million dollars in marijuana was growing or awaiting sale in a [address deleted] according to the Columbia County Sheriff's Department. Law enforcement seized the drugs, along with thousands of dollars in other assets, during a search conducted Monday night and most of the day Tuesday. Three Columbia County residents are in jail awaiting possible charges by the District Attorney's Office. The residence, [address deleted], belongs to [name deleted], according to Detective Lt. Wayne Smith. The house and the nine acres of land it sits on had 199 marijuana plants growing both inside and outside, Smith said. The Sheriff's Department confiscated another 14 root systems and more than 30 pounds of processed and packaged marijuana. [continues 475 words]
BARABOO City officials must decide what to do with a position in the Baraboo Police Department now that the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program, or D.A.R.E., will be officially terminated in July. D.A.R.E. has been a joint effort between the Baraboo Police Department and the Baraboo School District since 1993. The program is no longer eligible for the federal Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse grant, so school officials decided to drop it. They have to fill a mandate for research-based drug education instead, School District Administrator Lance Alwin said. [continues 325 words]
A tussle over a pro-pot festival could be resolved "sooner rather than later," Sauk County's attorney said Tuesday. The issue began in May of 2000 when Sauk County sheriff's deputies backed by police officers from around the area ended the annual "Weedstock" festival of music, political speeches and marijuana advocacy just as it began on a field east of Baraboo. They were acting to enforce the county open air assembly ordinance, which had been recently updated by the Sauk County Board. [continues 258 words]
BARABOO - Earlier this week a Sauk County judge threw out a case against a woman charged with marijuana possession because she had an out-of-state prescription for the drug. "I've been doing this for 17 years and this is the first such prescription I've seen," said Assistant District Attorney Kevin Calkins, who prosecuted the case. Medical marijuana is illegal in Wisconsin, but statutes allow possession where the patient has a valid prescription from a practitioner licensed to prescribe the drug. Calkins said the defendant in this case, Cheryl A. Lam, 53, of Sun Prairie, showed proof of her prescription in court and Judge James Evenson dismissed the case. [continues 324 words]
MADISON - Fifty-three-year-old Jacki Rickert of Madison is undergoing rehabilitative therapy for four broken ribs and a chipped hipbone that she suffered in a fall that wouldn't have hurt most people. The therapy is expected to help, but without marijuana, Rickert doubts she'd be able to handle the pain associated with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a disorder that makes her bones and connective tissue highly susceptible to injury. Even daily tasks can result in the separation of her shoulder joint, Rickert said. Marijuana calms her and relaxes her muscles, allowing the ball and socket of her shoulder joint to be put back together without a trip to the hospital. [continues 453 words]
