….”Talking to our narcotics investigators, they think there is a direct correlation to the legalization of marijuana in all of these states, the drying up of the marijuana money for the cartels and the increase in fentanyl, the increase in heroin, the increase in methamphetamine,” Smith said.
“You’re going to hear that from law enforcement and I probably agree with that,” responded Jay Selthofner from the Northern Wisconsin Chapter of NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
When asked if he is surprised to hear how much marijuana is coming to Wisconsin from legal states, he replied, “No.”
He added, “America’s appetite for marijuana is huge.”
Selthofner says marijuana does have a positive impact on heroin-related deaths. A 2018 Rand study found that states with “medical marijuana dispensaries” saw a drop in “opioid-related overdoses.”
“Prohibition in general doesn’t work. We’ve seen it has failed,” he said.
Selthofner says the solution is simple: Legalize marijuana.
“The best way to combat illicit marijuana coming into your state is to develop a program opposite of prohibition,” Selthofner told FOX 11 Investigates…. Read the entire article
So if you are not a a constituent of his you may want to approach Rep. Spiros via Telephone at (608) 266-1182 or email at Rep.Spiros@legis.wisconsin.gov and phrase your phone call or email with direct support of Assembly Bill 220 “Legalize Opportunity” and add “Please do not hold up this legislation in committee. Please hold a public hearing and put this piece of legislation to a floor vote!”
If you live in this district please contact us today as we need some assistance directly in his district by his constituents!
Here is the question on his spring budget survey:
Legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes has been proposed. Law enforcement, educators and the medical community oppose legalization. Which best describes your views on marijuana legalization?
I do not support any legalization of marijuana use
I support limited medical legalization only
I support full decriminalization of marijuana for recreational or medical use
Answer Rep. Sprios spring / budget survey with a marijuana question by using the following link:
Assembly District 96 is in Crawford, Monroe and Vernon Counties. (MAP)
On July 14, 2020, WisconsinEye senior producer Steve Walters interviewed Josefine Jaynes (D-Readstown) who is running for the 96th Assembly District in the upcoming partisan primary election.
Josefine Jaynes stated in the interview at mark 7:28 that she supports medical marijuana and regulation/taxation of responsible adult use, watch the video below cued and ready to go:
Jaynes faces Tucker Gretebeck (D – Cashton) in the primary.
Winner between Jaynes and Gretebeck face Loren Oldenburg (R-Viroqua) in the November General Election. In 2018 Oldenburg said “At this time I cannot get my support behind it,” Oldenburg stated about the drug. He recognized the belief that it may bring in more revenue for the state, but noted, “I think it would also bring in more criminals and criminal activities.” Rep. Loren Oldenburg received a “F” Failing Grade from NORML during the 2019-20 Legislative Session.
La Crosse Decriminalizes Small Amount of Marijuana Possession. Yes? No? Maybe so? A double veto by Mayor is overridden by La Crosse City Council. In 2010 a similar news event circulated, then in June the ordinance passed, but was veto’d again by Mayor Harter. The veto in November 2010 almost had the same override result, but not quite. The main Alderman behind the push was quoted in June saying:
“I’ll let somebody else do it,” Olson said. “I gave it my chance,” Olson told the Tribune.
Glad to see Alderman Olson and the City Council stuck to it.
Last night (July 14th, 2011) the La Crosse Common Council voted 14 to 3 to decriminalize marijuana for first-time offenders who are caught with seven grams of marijuana or less. The new ordinance goes into effect July 24.
The news video from WEAU.com can found found at
With a new City of La Crosse marijuana ordinance that takes effect July 24, people who are caught with seven grams of marijuana or less for the first time, could receive a ticket instead of being arrested.
“We think it sends a wrong message that it could soften attitudes about marijuana and we know when attitudes are softened, use increases,” said La Crosse Police Chief Ed Kondracki.
Chief Kondracki says juvenile arrests for marijuana use are up 50% this year. With the new ordinance, Kondracki says police officers will determine whether a ticket or arrest is appropriate on a case- to-case basis.
City council member Chris Olson, who introduced the ordinance, says getting a ticket gives people a change to change their ways.
“For a DUI, basically, they get a second chance and I think marijuana should be the same situation,” Olson said.
“I don’t think that it will change habits,” said City of La Crosse resident Jana Carter. “I think that it will kinda give the mentality that there’s more of a sense of a freedom to do it and that’s dangerous.”
But Charles Gittens says, “It’s the right thing to do because our courts are clogged up a little bit too much the way it is.”
Chief Kondracki says he just wants it to be clear that even with the new ordinance, marijuana is illegal not only in the city, but in the state.
“It is a dangerous drug and we have to be careful that we still engage in our prevention efforts,” Chief Kondracki said.
The chief says there is no set dollar amount to a ticket for possession of small amounts of marijuana yet. He says the city council will work with the municipal court judge to determine an appropriate fine.
The La Crosse Common Council tonight overrode Mayor Matt Harter’s veto of an ordinance that would make first-time possession of small amounts of marijuana a municipal rather than criminal offense.
Harter said last month he vetoed the measure for a second time because the public still perceives the ordinance as showing tolerance for drug use.
District 3 council member Chris Olson’s measure allows law enforcement to cite first-time possession of up to 7 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia as a municipal offense rather than misdemeanor.
Olson argued tonight the citations would generate additional revenue for the city and provide “a first-time offender a second chance.” He criticized police Chief Ed Kondracki for saying he would not ask his officers to enforce the ordinance.
“We shouldn’t be setting policy being dictated by an individual,” Olson said.
Capt. Rob Abraham later said Olson was mistaken on the chief’s position — the department will allow officers to use the ordinance at their own discretion. He did note the La Crosse County Sheriff’s Department has yet to cite anyone under a similar ordinance.
Harter’s veto of a similar measure in November ended up two votes shy of an override.
The council also overrode all of Harter’s vetoes on filling nine vacant positions.
Gary Storck, the Madison NORML Examiner also pointed out important information about decriminalization throughout the state:
While La Crosse has resisted marijuana decriminalization, other locations in Wisconsin including Madison and Eau Claire have had it since the 1970s. A change in state law from the 1990s allows counties and municipalities to make amounts less than 25 grams a civil infraction. The state is now covered by a patchwork of state law and local decrim ordinances, some allowing up to 25 grams, others capped at much less. Dane County adopted a new policy in March 2007 that all amounts under 25 grams had to be processed as a local or county ordinance violation.
Phillip Smith of StopTheDrugWar.com also covered the news from Wisconsin, reporting in part:
But a police spokesman later said that Olson was mistaken and that the department would allow officers to issue citations under the ordinance if they wished. The spokesman also noted that the La Crosse County Sheriff’s Department has yet to cite anyone under a similar county ordinance, instead charging them under state law.
La Crosse isn’t the first Wisconsin locality to decriminalize pot possession. Madison, the state capital, did in 1977, and Milwaukee, the state’s largest city, did in 1997.
Wisconsin saw two versions of medical marijuana legislation for the 2019-2020 session and Rep. Novak sponsored both of them.
With 84% of his district supporting medical marijuana reform and citizen lobbyists in the district reporting this rep supported medical cannabis, we expected Rep. Novak to make a move and award him a B+ for being one of the first Republicans in way too long to sponsor medical marijuana legislation.
We are familiar with Kriss Marion from her 2018 Senate campaign in which she was a full supporter legalizing marijuana. Here is the 2018 candidate question and answer:
1. Do you support a legal, regulated, and taxed market for recreational cannabis, allowing Wisconsin residents over the age of 21 to purchase and possess up to two ounces (or more) of cannabis from regulated dispensaries, as proposed by State Rep. Melissa Sargent’s (D-Madison) AB482?
Yes.
2. Do you support allowing any Wisconsin resident over the age of 21 to grow up to 6 (or more) cannabis plants at home without a license, as proposed by AB482?
I would prefer to allow licensed farmers to grow in a caregiver role like MT or OR. I want the legalization of cannabis to help WI farmers diversify and the state to profit without big business or industrial agriculture taking over. MINIMAL licensing!
3. Do you support allowing patients suffering from various ailments to purchase and use cannabis as treatment for their ailments if they have a doctor’s recommendation?
YES
4. Do you agree with the qualifying conditions for medical cannabis outlined in Section 42 of AB482 (listed below)?
(2) "Debilitating medical condition or treatment" means any of the following:
(a) Cancer; glaucoma; acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; a positive test for the presence of HIV, antigen or nonantigenic products of HIV, or an antibody to HIV; Crohn's disease; a hepatitis C virus infection; Alzheimer's disease; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; nail patella syndrome; Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome; post-traumatic stress disorder; or the treatment of these conditions.
(b) A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or the treatment of such a disease or condition that causes cachexia, severe pain, severe nausea, seizures, including those characteristic of epilepsy, or severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis.
(c) Any other medical condition or any other treatment for a medical condition designated as a debilitating medical condition or treatment in rules promulgated by the department of health services under s. 50.81 (2).
YES
5. Answer this question only if you support both recreational and medicinal uses of cannabis. Do you support allowing medical cannabis patients to possess more cannabis than recreational users and to be exempt from the taxes that are imposed on recreational users?
I support both, but I like the idea of taxing both for the sake of revenue.
6. Do you support a permitting system that would enable publicly-accessible establishments to allow legal possessors of cannabis to smoke it in outdoor areas at their establishments? This would address an issue present in other states’ implementations, where many people are legally allowed to purchase and possess cannabis, but have no place to legally consume it.
I think it would be reasonable to smoke cannabis anywhere where people can smoke cigarettes or have open intoxicants.
7. Do you support conviction expungement or pardons for anyone convicted of possession, growing, and/or selling cannabis in Wisconsin?
YES
8. Do you support or would you consider any other cannabis regulatory or legalization scheme for Wisconsin
YES
9. Do you believe that possession of limited amounts of cannabis by a person in his or her own home or in another’s home with the owner’s permission should be legal in the State of Wisconsin?
YES
10. What level of taxes do you think should be imposed on recreational cannabis?
I haven’t thought through this, but we have plenty of systems in other states to look at, and I like the MT and OR approaches because they are stimulating small business development, community revitalization and farm opportunities.
11. How do you think that tax revenue should be used?
I know many lobbies are talking about what they would do with the $$! I would advocate for farmer retraining; agricultural innovation; rural redevelopment and behavioral health programs targeted toward rural communities.
12. Why is cannabis law reform an important issue to you?
I am very interested in rural behavioral health, as a board member of SWCAP. I am very interested in rural redevelopment and farm diversity. I am also committed to justice for young people incarcerated for minor infractions who’s lives get derailed for cannabis use and possession. Finally, we need to get those incarcerated for these infractions back into our shrinking workforce.
Wisconsin’s 51st Assembly District contains parts of Sauk, Richland, Iowa and Lafayette Counties. The district is located in south western Wisconsin, along the border of Wisconsin and Illinois
Learn more about how to register to vote at MyVote.wi.gov
Learn more about requesting an absentee ballot / voting by mail at MyVote.Wi.Gov
What: Exploratory Meeting for a Winnebago County or an Oshkosh Chapter of The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
When: Tuesday, October 11th, 2011 from 4:20pm to 6:00pm
Where: Silica Styles, 703 N Main St, Oshkosh Wisconsin
Why: To help reform marijuana laws at the local and state level.
There is high interest in forming a Winnebago County Chapter of NORML with meetings being held in Oshkosh on a monthly basis.
The initial meeting to see if there is enough interest will be held on Tuesday, October 11th at 4:20pm. The owner of Silica Styles in downtown Oshkosh has graciously offered to use his facility for the first meeting and will be a location where future NORML support gear, information, fliers, membership forms and meeting notices will be available.
Subsequent Meetings are open to location suggestions, but we are currently exploring meeting at the public library in the City of Oshkosh. We plan to have the date and location for the November meeting secured by Oct 11th.
Stay tuned for more information as it become available and contact NorthernWiNORML@gmail.com to help. Please put Oshkosh in the subject title of the email when responding. You may also comment below, comments are moderated and will appear after approved. Thank you.
Remember to share this information with those who care and for Facebook Fans an event has also been created.
Steve Hager, longtime editor of High Times Magazine takes on hard-hitting DEA veteran Robert Stutman on the multitude of issues surrounding marijuana legalization. It provides a well-balanced forum for students and community on both sides of this embattled topic.
Robert M. Stutman – An “S.O.B. on the side of angels” (Boston Herald Magazine) and “one of our nation’s heroes” (according to Dan Rather) is Robert Stutman, formerly “the most famous narc in America” (so coined by New York Magazine).
Taking to the front lines of the drug wars, Bob Stutman made a 25-year career as one of America’s highest profile drug busters. Bob, as head of DEA’s largest office in the world, New York, became so visible; the Columbian Cartel had at one time targeted him for assassination.
Considered to be one of the nation’s top experts on drugs, Bob established The Stutman Group, a Management Consulting firm that designs and implements comprehensive and practical substance abuse prevention programs for communities, corporations and school systems across the nation.
Given Bob’s unique foundation in law enforcement, coupled with his experience meeting thousands of kids annually in schools throughout the country, Bob can both articulate what kids say and feel, as well as why they feel that way.
In addition to leading The Stutman Group, Bob has been the Special Consultant on substance abuse for CBS News. In addition, he has appeared frequently on hundreds of TV shows including the Today Show & Oprah. He was recently featured in the PBS Frontline documentary entitled Drug Wars and the VH 1 special entitled The Drug Years. His best-selling autobiography, “Dead on Delivery” was published by Warner Books and was the basis for a television movie entitled Mob Justice. Bob’s extensive speaking tours have brought him before thousands of audiences in over 70 countries.
Steve Hager – Editor of High Times Magazine – has a Master’s of Science Degree in Journalism from the University of Illinois, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theater. He is a former reporter for the New York Daily News and was editor of High Times Magazine for over 16 years. Hager has written four books: Hip Hop (St. Martins’ Press), the first history of rap music, break dancing and graffiti; Art After Midnight (St. Martin’s Press), a history of the East Village art scene of the 1980s; Adventures in the Counterculture (High Times Books), a collection of his High Times journalism. Appearing in the Spring of 2005, The Octopus Conspiracy (Trineday) contains everything in his previous three books, as well as Hager’s history of secret societies. “This is the real Da Vinci Code,” says Hager, “and it’s not about goddess worship, but an examination of some of the darkest forces that rule our planet.”
For the last five years, Hager has been a documentary filmmaker who writes, directs, shoots and edits his own features. “Heads versus Feds DVD” is one such product. Hager is also the creator of The Cannabis Cup, the academy awards of marijuana, which is held every year in Amsterdam during Thanksgiving week. Koch Vision released his feature documentary of this event in 2003. He continues to produce and direct the annual event, and is also Editor-at-Large of High Times Magazine and contributes a monthly column to the magazine titled “Counterculture Chronicles.”
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