The Portage Daily Register has this article about a former Marquette County Wisconsin cop facing a second set of charges relating to allegations of drug thefts from the department evidence locker.

MONTELLO — A former Marquette County sheriff's deputy accused of stealing drugs from an evidence storage room is headed to trial on a second set of charges.

Marquette County Circuit Court Judge Richard O. Wright ruled Tuesday that there is enough evidence to continue a second case against Daniel P. Card, 31.

The state attorney general's office in May filed new charges against Card based on evidence that he took drugs, including narcotics, cocaine and marijuana, on April 29, 2007, from the evidence room at the sheriff's department, according to a criminal complaint. The charges are similar to those filed previously against him, stemming from alleged incidents in May 2007.

Jeff Gabrisiak and Dennis Krueger, assistant attorneys general with the Wisconsin Department of Justice, are special prosecutors in both cases, because Card worked for the sheriff's department.

Card faces charges of felony burglary and possession of narcotic drugs; and misdemeanor possession of cocaine, theft, and entry into a locked room.

In March, a deputy discovered in the department's records room an empty prescription bottle, stored as evidence for a 2006 case. That led to an investigation into other items missing from the department's evidence room, according to the criminal complaint.

During the investigation, deputies discovered a second empty prescription bottle, three empty evidence bags and a dated receipt from April 29, 2007, in the back of a filing cabinet containing records from 1995, the complaint stated.

The bottle and bags were labeled as evidence in cases from 1996, 1997 and 2006, and contained narcotic pills, cocaine and marijuana, according to the complaint. The receipt was from an April 29, 2007, purchase from the Montello Mart with a debit card later identified as Card's.

Card pleaded not guilty in April to charges filed in December: two counts of felony burglary, one count of misdemeanor theft, felony possession of narcotic drugs without a prescription and misdemeanor possession of cocaine or crack cocaine.

The criminal complaint in that case alleges Card removed 59 tablets of oxycodone and a small amount of crack cocaine, on or before May 12, 2007, that was held as evidence in the storage room at the Marquette County Sheriff's Department. The complaint also alleges that one week later Card again entered the storage room with the intent to steal drugs.

Two witnesses for the prosecution testifed Tuesday, including Chief Deputy Joe Konrath. Konrath was the investigator in each of the original cases from which Card allegedly stole drugs.

Konrath testified that he tested the drugs as part of the initial investigations in previous years. On cross-examination, he testified that he was directly linked with all of the initial cases from which the drug evidence was taken.

Konrath also testified that only three people other than himself are authorized to enter the locked evidence room: the sheriff and two investigators. However, he said, 12 people had keys in early 2007. Card did not have a key, Konrath testified.

Card resigned from the department June 1, 2007, after beginning work with the department as a correctional officer in the jail in November 2005.

An arraignment on the second case is scheduled for July 23.

Dean Strang of Madison, Card's defense attorney, said he expects Card to plea not guilty to the second set of charges.

The trial for the charges filed in December is Sept. 9-10, but the dates could change, as the two sets of charges will likely be tried together. That trial could take three days.

If he is found guilty of the new charges, Card faces up to 11 and a half years in prison and $60,000 in fines, in addition to a maximum of 31 years in prison and fines of up to $80,000 for the charges filed in December.

As a heart patient, I know that cannabis can be very beneficial for many heart patients. The following letter expounds on that awareness.

WHY RELUCTANCE TO RESEARCH CANNABIS?

"Heart troubles," the State Journal's Wednesday piece on Tim Russert's abrupt passing despite treatment with the best Western medicine could offer, points out a need for more alternatives.

In a 2004 study published in the journal Nature, "Low dose oral cannabinoid therapy reduces progression of atherosclerosis in mice," click here, Swiss scientists observed that cannabinoids, chemical compounds found in marijuana, protect against heart disease by blocking the blood vessel inflammation that causes plaque to form.

The cannabinoid used was delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), already approved by the FDA as a schedule 3 drug. Although approved to stimulate appetite in cancer and AIDS patients, doctors hypothetically could prescribe it "off-label," meaning this treatment is available today nationwide.

But since the media tends to overlook studies showing medical benefits from cannabis, few are aware that cannabis or its constituent cannabinoids may be a lifesaving alternative.

Why must we look abroad to learn more about the medical uses of cannabis, and how did America get to the point where withholding this potential lifesaver from patients is good public policy?

-- Gary Storck, Madison, director of communications, Is My Medicine Legal Yet?

Last session, a bill to ban the herb, salvia divinorum, a member of the mint family, was introduced into the state legislature click here. The bill received a hearing, but died on March 21, according to the state legislature website.

It’s pretty strange to see law enforcement eager to enforce laws that haven’t even been passed. Meanwhile County officials recently stated that if state DUI penalties were increased, it would create the need for at least 3 new courtrooms, additional jail space and other huge expenditures. How much would a salvia ban cost and why the rush to criminalize a substance much less harmful and toxic than alcohol or tobacco?

Source: GM Today click here

Waukesha store owner charged with selling pot

Undercover cop allegedly made three drug deals at Candles For You

By BRIAN HUBER - GM Today Staff

June 24, 2008

Photo caption: A sign taped to the front door of Candles For You, 744 N. Grand Ave., declares that the store is closed Monday due to a "drugs delivery." A search warrant indicates that marijuana was found in the shop.

WAUKESHA -

A Waukesha store owner has been charged with selling marijuana out of his downtown candle shop.

James Juhay, 46, was ordered held on a $10,000 cash bond Monday after being charged with three counts of delivering marijuana, a count of possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute it, three counts of felony bail jumping and maintaining a drug place. If convicted, he faces up to 38 years in custody.

According to Waukesha police, a criminal complaint and other court records, Juhay was the target of an undercover investigation after police received tips he was selling pot at his Candles For You store, 744 N. Grand Ave. On June 5, an undercover officer went into the store, where Juhay told him, "I got bud for sale," an affidavit said.

The officer bought $20 worth of pot that day, and returned June 11 and June 17 for more transactions, worth $20 and $25, the affidavit said.

Police searched the store Thursday and found more than one pound of marijuana in a safe and other locations, as well as plastic bags with drug residue, drug paraphernalia, suspected hashish - though it did not test positive for the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient of marijuana - and salvia divinorum, a substance deemed illegal earlier this year in Wisconsin, the search warrant indicated. It added police found what was believed - but not proven to be - ecstasy residue.

(snip)

As a Waukesha native, I was a bit surprised to read allegations a couple of locals decided to take on marijuana prohibition head on by selling pot out of their downtown storefront, along with candles. Today and when I last lived in Waukesha over 25 years ago, the largest drug dealer downtown was and is a large liquor/tobacco store in a former Sears department store building. The store hums with business all day every day. Dozens of smoky downtown bars round things out by keeping the suds and drinks flowing.

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel click here
Published June 21, 2008
Author: Darryl Enriquez

AFTER DRUG TIP, POLICE RAID WAUKESHA STORE

Candle shop owner taken into custody

Waukesha - Another downtown store owner stands accused by police of conducting illicit activity through his business.

Police are seeking three counts of delivery of marijuana against the 46-year-old owner of a downtown candle shop. The merchant, James A. Juhay, who was named in a search warrant returned Friday to Waukesha County Circuit Court, likely will remain in jail over the weekend, and the case will be referred to the district attorney Monday, police Capt. Mark Stigler said.

Police say undercover officers purchased marijuana at the store, Candles for You, 744 N. Grand Ave., prompting them to execute a search warrant there late Thursday.

Police had received a tip that more drugs than candles were being sold there, and that the owner was sleeping in a closet there, Stigler said.

Police found over a pound of marijuana in the store during the raid, during which a 45-year-old man came up from the basement with 10 bags of marijuana and a scale on him, Stigler said.

That man, identified in a court record as Michael Freed, is facing a felony charge of possession with intent to deliver. The store owner is facing charges for felony bail jumping. Juhay had been free on bail in connection with charges filed in May of battery and possession of marijuana, Stigler said.

Victoria Hekkers, president of the Business Improvement District, praised the police action, saying it was quick and decisive.

(snip)

Dutch authorities acted wisely in exempting cannabis from the nation’s upcoming smoking ban. Science has pretty much debunked any cancer connection from smoking the herb, while establishing cannabis and its cannabinoid constituents are actually potent cancer fighters click here.

Now, if we could only jettison cannabis prohibition and let Madsterdam blossom!

Dutch health minister says marijuana to be exempt from July 1 smoking ban
Source: Forbes.com click here

AMSTERDAM (Thomson Financial) - Dutch health minister Ab Klink said visitors to coffee shops will be free to smoke marijuana as long as it is not mixed with tobacco, after a smoking ban affecting all restaurants and bars goes into effect on July 1.

The minister was replying to questions tabled by parliamentary colleagues on whether coffee shops will become completely smoke free when the ban goes into effect.

Current tobacco laws in the Netherlands do not cover the smoking of pure marijuana or cannabis in coffee shops, he said.

Coffee shops also will be allowed to set up separate smoking areas for customers who want to smoke marijuana and tobacco, although staff will not be allowed to serve or do other work inside those areas.

Minister Klink said he would look into the ban's effect on coffee shops at the end of 2008 or beginning of 2009, including what percentage of coffee shops have opened a separate smoking area.

On May 20, NORML’s Paul Armentano posted an article on NORML’s blog, “Is Senator Kennedy A Victim Of Pot Prohibition?” click here.

The recent sudden death of NBC television’s Tim Russert from a heart attack at only 58 reminded me of Paul’s post. While news reports indicated Russert was being treated with conventional medications, his abrupt demise suggests they weren’t working. As one who has endured a lifetime of heart problems due to a congenital condition, I’m very aware of the medical value of cannabis for cardiac patients firsthand.

There is science to back it up too. In 2004, a study by a group of Swiss and German researchers, “Low dose oral cannabinoid therapy reduces progression of atherosclerosis in mice,” detailed how cannabinoids protects against heart attack, stroke and other heart disease. It’s interesting that the dosage required to attain the protective effect was less than the amount required for a psychoactive effect. So, cannabinoids could offer a heart medication that not only works, but has few side effects, certainly much fewer than the toxic standard pharmaceuticals commonly used to treat heart disease.

Here’s the study, as published in the Journal Nature, followed by a BBC article about the findings, which like most studies finding benefit from cannabis, did not receive much play in mainstream media.

Letters to Nature click here Nature 434, 782-786 (7 April 2005) | doi:10.1038/nature03389; Received 26 October 2004; Accepted 21 January 2005

There is a Corrigendum (26 May 2005) associated with this document.
Low dose oral cannabinoid therapy reduces progression of atherosclerosis in mice

Sabine Steffens1, Niels R. Veillard1,5, Claire Arnaud1,5, Graziano Pelli1, Fabienne Burger1, Christian Staub3, Andreas Zimmer4, Jean-Louis Frossard2 and François Mach1
1. Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Foundation for Medical Research, University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
2. Division of Gastroenterology, University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
3. Institute of Legal Medicine, University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
4. Laboratory for Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, 53105 Bonn, Germany
5. These authors contributed equally to this work
Correspondence to: François Mach1 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to F.M. (Email: Francois.Mach@medecine.unige.ch).

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease, and is the primary cause of heart disease and stroke in Western countries1. Derivatives of cannabinoids such as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) modulate immune functions2 and therefore have potential for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. We investigated the effects of THC in a murine model of established atherosclerosis. Oral administration of THC (1 mg kg-1 per day) resulted in significant inhibition of disease progression. This effective dose is lower than the dose usually associated with psychotropic effects of THC. Furthermore, we detected the CB2 receptor (the main cannabinoid receptor expressed on immune cells2, 3) in both human and mouse atherosclerotic plaques. Lymphoid cells isolated from THC-treated mice showed diminished proliferation capacity and decreased interferon- secretion. Macrophage chemotaxis, which is a crucial step for the development of atherosclerosis1, was also inhibited in vitro by THC. All these effects were completely blocked by a specific CB2 receptor antagonist4. Our data demonstrate that oral treatment with a low dose of THC inhibits atherosclerosis progression in the apolipoprotein E knockout mouse model, through pleiotropic immunomodulatory effects on lymphoid and myeloid cells. Thus, THC or cannabinoids with activity at the CB2 receptor may be valuable targets for treating atherosclerosis.

BBC article on study:

Cannabis chemical 'helps heart' click here

A chemical in cannabis can help ward off strokes and heart disease, scientists believe.

Swiss researchers found THC, one of 60 cannabinoids in the drug, helped stop the narrowing of arteries to the brain and heart in a study of mice.

But the team, from Geneva University Hospital, said smoking cannabis did not produce the same effect.

However UK experts warned more research was needed before firm conclusions could be drawn.

Deaths

Blocked arteries - a condition known as atherosclerosis - are estimated to be responsible for up to 50% stroke and heart disease deaths in developing countries each year.

In the study, published in the Nature journal, mice were fed a high cholesterol diet to make them develop atherosclerosis and then given THC, which causes the high during cannabis use.

The Swiss researchers found THC stopped inflammation of blood vessels, which is largely responsible for blocking arteries.

The chemical worked by suppressing the immune system's response to a protein which is responsible for inflammation.

We certainly hasten to advise against people smoking cannabis to protect their heart health Professor Jeremy Pearson, of the British Heart Foundation

Lead researcher Francois Mach said while drugs such as statins which lower blood pressure and cholesterol had proved extremely effective the findings were still of "great medical interest".

And he added: "The dose [used] is lower than the dose usually associated with psychotropic effects of THC."

In a few weeks, Congress will again be voting on the Hinchey Amendment. The annual vote is on a federal budget amendment that would prohibit the use of federal funds to subvert state medical cannabis laws and target patients and providers in the 12 states where it is now legal.

Kagen’s vote outraged Wisconsinites who support compassionate access to medical cannabis for our state’s sick, disabled and dying. For his constituents, it was as if the man Kagen narrowly beat, ex-Wisconsin Assembly Speaker John Gard, a serial blocker of state medical marijuana legislation, had cast the vote, not the alleged liberal Democrat Kagen.

Soon, we’ll see whether Congressman Kagen will once again vote to use our tax dollars, and I guess, the money we borrow from China and other countries to run our government, to arrest medical marijuana patients and providers in the 12 states where it is now legal. That number will likely become 13 when the votes are counted in Michigan this November. That also means Kagen’s very congressional district will abut portions of a state where medical marijuana will be legal. Can he retain the district by continuing to alienate medical marijuana supporters, a group that includes over 80% of state residents? If he won’t make his tent larger, he may end up having to fold it instead.

Rice Lake WI native Dr. David Bearman’s candidacy for Santa Barbara CA county supervisor ended with a loss with a record low turnout in the June 3 primary. Readers may recall Dr. Bearman spent several days back in Wisconsin last November spreading the word about medical cannabis, holding a book signing, lecturing at the UW Medical School click here, and testifying before the State Senate’s Health Committee click here.

Video of Dr. Bearman’s campaign ad, filmed in a dispensary.

A Wisconsin medical cannabis patient suffering from intractable pain from adhesive arachnoiditis recently sent Congressman Ron Kind (D-La Crosse) an emotional letter asking that he cosponsor current medical marijuana legislation in Congress, HR 5842 click here.

I told my friend, then he found his own 5-year old letter from Kind with mostly identical wording as the one from 2008.

2008 Letter: Of the 365 words in the body of the letter, three paragraphs containing 197 words were identical to a section from Kind’s 2003 letters (repeated section in bold text below).

Dear redacted:

Thank you for contacting me about the legalization of marijuana. I appreciate hearing from you.

While I appreciate the points you make regarding legalization, I do not believe that marijuana should be legalized. As a former prosecutor, I have seen firsthand the detrimental effects of marijuana use and how it often escalates to the use of more serious drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Studies show that the harmful effects of long-term marijuana use are many and varied. Effects include lung and asthma problems, loss of ability to set long-term goals, and a propensity to graduate to other, more powerful drugs.

The use of marijuana for medical purposes is a contentious issue filled with conflicting scientific evidence, and I remain willing to listen to both sides of the debate. I understand that marijuana was once popularly recommended for various illnesses, although in recent years its medical use has declined. This decline is due to the increased availability of alternative medicines and the federal government's increasing role in curbing international drug importation and fighting domestic substance abuse.

I have heard from several medical professionals and citizens that, in a controlled environment, the benefits of the drug outweigh the possible risks to the patient. They present evidence that marijuana's chemical properties increase the quality of comfort and care afforded to patients suffering from illnesses such as cancer and AIDS.

Data from the Office of National Drug Control Policy, however, raises legitimate concerns as well. While illegal substance use has declined since the 1970s, marijuana has remained the most common drug among illicit users. If marijuana is to become a legal form of medication, further research and consideration must be given to both sides of the issue and a consensus must be reached between the health care and law enforcement professions. Please be assured that should legislation regarding this issue be introduced, I will keep your views in mind.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Should you have further questions or comments, I hope you will not hesitate to be in touch with my office. Also, I encourage you to visit my website, www.house.gov/kind, where you kind find updated information, send me e-mail, and signup for my e-newsletter.

Sincerely,

Ron Kind Member of Congress

(snip)

Kind’s failure to update a medical marijuana position that seems right out of 1997 or worse to begin with, is mystifying. Another of Kind’s constituents is Jacki Rickert, whom Kind has excelled at ignoring and breaking appointments with at his DC offices. Jacki, myself and Jim Miller had a meeting with a Kind staffer in 2004 that ended up with the staffer crying in empathy with Jacki’s plight, and then first Jim, then myself and Jacki walking out. In 2004, we found it easier to talk to Congressman Kind at a Madison fundraiser than his Washington DC offices.

When is Kind going to wake up and really stand behind patients and their loved ones who need medical cannabis, or at the very least, devise some new wording for his medical marijuana form letter gone so stale it’s downright moldy?

Urge Your Representative to Support the federal medical cannabis bill H.R. 5842! click here. If that happens to be Congressman Ron Kind, while you've probably already seen his response above, please try anyway.

Two year ago. click here, I wrote post titled, “A letter from 27 years ago today”. Having just endured another long afternoon at the eye doctor, it seems good to take a look back.

The letter was meaningful to me in that it represented the first time a doctor had recognized, in writing, that cannabis would benefit me and that it should be available like any other medication. Seven years earlier, October 3, 1972, I had stumbled upon pot as a treatment for the congenital glaucoma that had steadily stolen my sight all through childhood. I had smoked some pot with friends after school and headed off to see my then-eye doctor. He found my normally highly elevated intraocular pressures normal. Since that day I have continued to medicate with cannabis every day I could obtain it, through the 1970's, 1980's, 1990's and today much of the way through the 00's.

So, once again with feeling, If America truly is the land of liberty and justice for all, the Berlin wall of cannabis prohibition must fall, like the lies and myths that have been perpetrated in the name of keeping this gentle herb from patients in need. The sky is blue not green, and its time to stop the lies and the war and let the healing begin.

From the May 28, 2008 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel comes this response from columnist Jim Stingl to the response to his recent column on cannabis click here.

Response to pot issue isn't what you think

Jim Stingl

You might think I'd get hammered for writing a column calling for legalization of marijuana. The opposite is true.

"Amen, brotha," wrote Joe, one of nearly 100 readers who responded to Friday's article. Four out of five agreed with me, and I'm sure they're not all raving potheads.

"I am not a user of marijuana. I am, however, tired of seeing huge amounts of funds used for chasing the demons dreamed up by our leaders, both local and nationally," said Bill.

Wrote another: "I am a white suburban 44-year-old wife, mother and professional woman. I completely agree with everything you said regarding the legalization, decriminalization and taxation of marijuana . . . I also do not think it is a 'gateway' drug for adults who use it responsibly for pain relief, chronic anxiety conditions, or just to relax after a stressful day."

The column followed police raids last week that netted 2,000 pot plants and five arrests. Oak Creek Police Chief Tom Bauer said it was an "interesting read," but he didn't like my assertion that his department and others turned the bust into a media show.

"If you lived in a neighborhood like that, wouldn't you want to know and see what's going on in your neighborhood? It's called crime prevention," he said.

A 77-year-old retired teacher seemed awfully worried about me.

"I hate to say it. I hope you were not, and are not, a drug addict yourself. But it seems like you might be," he told my voicemail.

I'm a chocolate junkie. That's it.

Another reader said he wants pot use "persecuted" to the fullest extent of the law. Then he called me a "dumb (expletive) piece of (expletive)" for thinking otherwise.

"Do you want your heavy equipment operator high? How about your electrician? Doctor? Dentist?" one reader asked. Of course not, at least not while they're functioning as my heavy equipment operator, electrician, doctor or dentist. They could just as easily be impaired right now on a legal substance.

Two probation agents and a prison worker came down on my side of the argument, saying marijuana offenders are a waste of their time and cell space.

Numerous readers like the idea of taxing legal marijuana and using the money to treat drug addiction, but one predicted users would grow their own to avoid the cost and the taxes.

I heard from a few weed smokers, including a 21-year-old woman who wrote: "Sure, pot is harmful to your (or my) body and you do lose brain cells, but isn't alcohol just as bad or even worse? And yet alcohol is EVERYWHERE! Apparently even at Chuck E. Cheese. Not once have I ever seen someone get into a random fight while high."

"If alcohol and tobacco are legal, why should marijuana be illegal?" said William.

"I feel sorry for these people who were arrested. They will be treated the same as if they were involved with heroin or a cocaine ring," Tom said.

"The 'war on drugs' is a multi-billion-dollar sham, and the pursuit of marijuana is the most absurd part of it," Terese wrote.

"I see no reason," said an older-sounding woman who left a message, "why the government is telling you what you can or cannot smoke."

"This is a vast and crazy world we live in; recreational marijuana use should be the very least of America's concerns," Colin wrote. "I know you'll probably catch a lot of flak for this article from soccer moms."

Surprisingly little.

Call Jim Stingl at (414) 224-2017 or e-mail at jstingl@journalsentinel.com

Jim Maas of Rothschild, a member of the executive committee of the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin, had a column about the federal farm bill that included support for hemp farming in Wisconsin published in the Wausau Daily Herald.

(snip)

We need to get the feds out of the pork business and let American farmers farm — no promises, no interference. One crop might be industrial hemp. Wisconsin was the leading industrial hemp producer in the country during the first half of the 20th century — and then the government decided hemp looks too much like marijuana.

The first American flags were made of hemp; both Washington and Jefferson raised hemp; Ben Franklin printed publications on hemp paper; American ships were caulked and rigged with hemp; and hemp played an important role in both world wars.

Hemp has thousands of uses. Besides fibers for paper and textiles, it can be used for biodegradable plastics, health food and fuel. Hemp requires little to no pesticides, replenishes soil with nutrients and nitrogen, controls erosion of the topsoil and produces a lot of oxygen. The downside? Our government prohibits its use.

(snip)

On Sunday, former congressman Bob Barr (R-GA) received the Libertarian Party presidential nomination at their convention in Denver. But how did a right-wing ideologue like Barr, who championed the USA PATRIOT Act, authored and sponsored the Defense of Marriage Act, and blocked the counting of votes in a Washington DC medical marijuana initiative end up being the nominee of a party that embraces freedom and is named after liberty?

The “Commando Squad” at Barr’s Capitol Hill office on Thursday, October 21, 1999.

It began when Jim placed Cheryl on a mattress in Barr’s office doorway, with Jacki on the right in her wheelchair and me on the left, and explained our mission while performing a “spasticity demonstration” on Cheryl’s afflicted limbs. Later, after supporters inside Barr’s office began chanting, “Bob Barr has gone too far,” Capitol Police broke up the demonstration, arresting Jim and placing Cheryl back in her wheelchair, sans padding.

Here's the video of the action at Barr's: .

Group shot outside Barr's office in 2001 that led to 30 minute detainment by Capitol Police at Barr's orders.

Returning to Barr’s office in April 2001 to pose for a group shot outside, our little commando squad was then detained and questioned for a half hour by Capitol Police as we were exiting the building, on Barr’s orders.

In July 2002, I was back in Washington for a Capitol Hill press conference for NORML click here with Jim and Cheryl Miller and Reps. Barney Frank, Ron Paul and others announcing the introduction of Frank’s States Rights to Medical Marijuana Act. Later, the late Libertarian filmmaker and activist Ron Crickenberger shot footage of Cheryl and me for use in LP tv commercials highlighting medical marijuana patients, including one used in Ed Thompson’s 2002 Wisconsin gubernatorial campaign.

Crickenberger also filmed Cheryl for a commercial targeting Bob Barr, who had been redistricted into a primary against another Republican incumbent. Run on behalf of the Libertarian candidate, the devastating commercial, voice over stating Bob Barr wants to jail patients like Cheryl with her asking, “Why would you do that me, Bob?,” aired thousands of times. Although polling gave him an 18-point lead going into the election, when the dust cleared, Barr was defeated. The powerful words of the seriously ill Cheryl had clearly struck a nerve with voters, and Barr’s congressional career had come to a sudden end.

Watch Cheryl's commercial here: .

It seems Barr’s awakening and transition from tyrant to civil libertarian had a lot to do with this extraordinary woman who, despite near total immobilization from multiple sclerosis, had the courage to go to Capitol Hill and stick up for medical cannabis patients like herself. Cheryl died on June 7, 2003 from complications of MS. A memorial, including a candlelight vigil at the US Supreme Court, was held for her in September 2003. Cheryl would have been 62 on May 21, 2008.

Barr himself acknowledged the power of Cheryl when he met Jim Miller at a talk in New York last year. His conversion shows that even the most hardened opponent of medical cannabis is capable of seeing the light. May that light shine into the cold hearts of the many elected officials still working against we the people to keep this medicine from patients who need it today.

Madison's Capital Times published my letter about cannabis decriminalization today!

GOOD TIME TO END REEFER MADNESS

Dear Editor: Several weeks ago the Cap Times editorialized in support of cannabis (marijuana) decriminalization and cited federal legislation, HR 5843, that was introduced by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. You also noted you hoped that Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, would become a co-sponsor.

On May 20, Rep. Baldwin was officially listed as the bill's third co-sponsor. Let's hope Tammy's courage to lead on this issue inspires her colleagues to join her in signing on. Baldwin also co-sponsored HR 5842, which would protect medical cannabis patients acting legally under state laws. Tammy has been a reliable supporter throughout her career of medical cannabis patients and families.

While protecting patients has a fair amount of support, there is a growing consensus in Congress that removing criminal penalties for responsible personal cannabis use also makes sense. In addition to the Frank bill in the House, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., expressed support for cannabis decriminalization while running for the Democratic presidential nomination this year. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., has written in his new book, "A Time to Fight: Reclaiming a Fair and Just America," that "the time has come to stop locking up people for mere possession and use of marijuana."

Today, more than ever, cannabis decriminalization makes perfect sense. It's time to put reefer madness behind us and reap the myriad benefits the cannabis plant offers society.

Gary Storck

Madison

What a nice surprise to find a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist, Jim Stingl, acknowledging the drug war has failed and urging the legalization of cannabis! Read on!

DRUG POLICY CHASES WEEDS, MISSES NEEDS

I remember exactly where I was when I heard the space shuttle Challenger had exploded.

Notebook in hand, I was watching the police toss bales of seized marijuana into a power plant furnace in Green Bay where I was a reporter at the time. It was quite the media event.

The aroma was pungent and the message was clear: Watch out druggies. This is war.

That was 22 years ago, and I have little doubt that dope smoking in Titletown and everywhere else goes along as usual. It was all for show.

Same with the big pot bust this week in Oak Creek, Franklin and Sturtevant. Five people were arrested, and more than 2,000 plants were discovered in four homes that had been turned into the horticultural equivalent of the Mitchell Park Domes.

Someday the police will seize marijuana plants without feeling the need to stage a show-and-tell where TV cameras can linger over the lush greenery. I understand why they always call in the media. It was, in the words of one police official, a once-in-a-career bust.

But do you feel safer now? Is the problem of drug abuse in America any closer to being solved? Is this sweep anything but the tiniest dent in the availability of marijuana for people who want it?

I'm not blaming police. They're on the front lines of an endless and expensive drug war, carrying out what they think America wants.

But do we? I'd like to see prison space used instead for the repeat drunken drivers whom we're reluctant to charge as felons because there's no room to lock them up. They're a real menace.

Show me some news video of a roomful of drunk drivers connected together in leg irons. That's a lot scarier than these weeds that make people giggle and crave junk food.

Come to think of it, we should just legalize marijuana for adults and stop wasting so much time, energy and billions of dollars protecting people from themselves while locking up otherwise law-abiding citizens. Keep the harder stuff illegal, but regulate and tax legal weed. Pretty radical suggestion, I know, especially when you see how difficult it is to get even medical marijuana approved.

Alcohol is much more dangerous and deadly and ruinous to families, and it flows legally just about everywhere you go. Marijuana rarely kills anyone, except when users unwisely and illegally drive high, but its evil is assumed to be self-evident. Maybe it's that exotic j in the middle of the word.

Think of the money we'd save by not conducting three-month multi-jurisdictional investigations like this one that result in a few arrests and a bonfire. Then we could afford to offer more treatment to people who abuse drugs and need help more than punishment.

We've taken small steps in this direction. First-time possession of marijuana is treated as an ordinance violation rather than a crime in Milwaukee and other places. But then it's hammer time. Subsequent arrests, even for possession, can turn into a felony and incarceration.

The drug war is especially brutal, a recent study of Wisconsin found, if your skin happens to be anything but white. The criminal justice system winds up having a more detrimental effect on a person than the drug ever would.

If we did this, I doubt the streets suddenly would be full of people who lose their train of thought in the middle of a sentence and just want to listen to Bob Marley. Life is best with a clear head.

Police could stop being gardeners and concentrate more on crimes that really matter.

Call Jim Stingl at (414) 224-2017 or e-mail at jstingl@journalsentinel.com