Good for you Michael - what a solid citizen. You should be so proud of you. Lord help us.

Well said Sunrocket! Thanks for openly, sharing your stupidity, Michael!

Guys, consider, if SHE owns the car, he sells pot from it, she could lose the car. Legally speaking, IF the mom owns the car, she can say "Yes" to the search. If not, she cannot. Former cop here...if they searched, it must have been her name on the title. If not, then obviously the 4th Amendment questions.

@Michael: Your post is an admission and an admission against interest, both of which are admissible in court under Wis Stat ss. 908.01(4) & 908.045(4). Depending in the amount, possession of THC with intent to deliver is a Class I or H Felony under Wis Stat s. 961.41(1m)(h); straight possession of THC is a Class I Felony under Wis Stat s. 961.41(3g), all of which are punishable by fines and imprisonment under Wisconsin's Uniform Controlled Substances Act. You have been posting on he Wauwatosa Patch since May of this year. I suspect you may be hearing more about your post in the near future.

Be careful is right Michael to quote K. Martin; Big Brother is watching, but they don't bother the dealers much, just innocent smokers; it's easier, not as dangerous. Whatever you do, don't go reaching for your stash, they may suspect you are going for a gun and it will be lights out . . .

It's not even possible to keep drugs out of prisons, but prohibitionists wish to waste trillions of dollars in an utterly futile attempt to keep them off our streets.

When governments prohibit drugs they effectively and knowingly hand a monopoly on their sale to dangerous criminals and terrorists. Without a legal framework in which to operate, these black-market entities can always be expected to settle their disputes violently, while terrorizing many peaceful and innocent citizens in the process. Were the users of alcohol to blame for the St Valentines massacre in 1929? Of course not! It is just as naive to assume that one can compel all the users of Marijuana, Cocaine, or Meth to simply quit, as it is to assume that all the users of Alcohol should have stopped drinking after the introduction of alcohol prohibition in 1919.

Nobody can be expected to obey bad laws, like ones that infringe on logic as well as the fundamental right to decide on what medicine or poison an individual adult may, or may not, ingest. The violence and the deaths ultimately arising from such bad public policy should always rest squarely on the shoulders of those ignorant imbeciles who are responsible for implementing and supporting such foolishness.

If you support prohibition then you support bank-rolling criminals and terrorists. There's simply no other logical way of looking at it.

If your children are smart enough to get all the scientific facts about Cannabis, there is no way he or she shouldn't be allowed to use Cannabis because it is scientifically proven that:
- Cannabis kill cancer cells leaving the healthy cells unarmed and it is by far the most efficient medicine to cure and/or prevent most cancers
- Cannabis is the safest and most efficient medicine to control attention disorder, can't be compared to Ritalin witch is a deadly poison to start with
- Cannabis user stay younger, healthier and have a better quality of life
- Cannabis is the safest and the best anti-depressant known to men
- It is more damaging for your health to eat 10 potatoes than to use Cannabis
- There is not a single death attributed to Cannabis, alcohol kills thousands of person every single month and everyone is using it like they believe it is not a drug, in fact alcohol is the worst of all drugs when it comes to the damage it can cause to every system in your body, from your brain cells getting toasted to all the heart, liver etc. problems, child with irreversible birth defect both intellectual and physical so if you love life, and your children and relative, you owe to yourself to take a few minutes of you time to do a google search and dig a little bit what comes up when you search cannabinoids and cancer.

Frank - I think your facts are a little whacked. A coworker of mine years ago was a daily - day long smoker. She was not always a lot of fun to work with number one, was kind of out of it all the time - her attention was nil. Number two - she could not be relied upon for much and three, died of uterine cancer 5 years ago.

Kay Parfield, Prohibition­ has also raised gang warfare to a level not seen since the days of alcohol bootleggin­g in the United States. How has that helped our kids?

Prohibition­ has creating a prison-for­-profit synergy with evil drug lords and terrorists. How has that helped our kids?

Prohibition­ has removed many of our cherished and important civil liberties. How has that helped our kids?

Prohibition­ has put many previously unknown and contaminate­d drugs on our streets. How has that helped our kids?

Prohibition­ has escalating Murder, Theft, Muggings, and Burglaries­. How has that helped our kids?

Prohibition­ has overcrowd­ing the courts and prisons, thus making it increasing­ly impossible to curtail the people who are really hurting and terrorizing­ others. How has that helped our kids?

Prohibition­ has evolved local street gangs into transnatio­nal enterprise­s with intricate power structures that reach into every corner of society, and with significant social and military resources at their disposal. How has that helped our kids?

“The State must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation.” — Adolf Hitler, “Mein Kampf”

Cricket, I know many people doing the same and they never used Cannabis ever, some person are hard worker, good at school some people are not, it has nothing to do with Cannabis, and how do you know this person never took anything else than Cannabis? no alcohol, no cigarettes, not living near a nuclear plan or a company that releases poison in the air??? I have been smoking for 32 years non stop, 2 years ago I stopped for a year and I am still very well and I have a lot of success both professionally and socially so don't tell ME it's bad I know better

And by just giving them a serious talking would do that? Perhaps some ramifications would speak louder than words.

Sunrocket, will you graciously applaud when, due to your own incipient and authoritarian approach, even your own child is caged and raped?

* It is estimated that there are over 300,000 instances of prison rape a year.
* 196,000 are estimated to happen to men in prison.
* 123,000 are estimated to happen to men in county jail.
* 40,000 are estimated to be committed against boys in either adult prisons or while in juvenile facilities or lock ups.
* 5000 women are estimated to be raped in prison.

http://www.loompanics.com/Articles/RapeInPrison.html

And will you also applaud when your own child, due to an unnecessary and counter productive felony conviction, can no longer find employment?

Mike, most of us know that individuals who use illegal drugs are going to get high—no matter what, so why do you not prefer they acquire them in stores that check IDs and pay taxes? Gifting the market in narcotics to ruthless criminals, foreign terrorists, and corrupt law enforcement officials is seriously compromising our future.

Why do you wish to continue with a policy that has proven itself to be a poison in the veins of our once so "proud & free" nation? Even if you cannot bear the thought of people using drugs, there is absolutely nothing you, or any government, can do to stop them. We have spent 40 years and trillions of dollars on this dangerous farce; Prohibition will not suddenly and miraculously start showing different results. Do you actually believe you may personally have something to lose If we were to begin basing our drug policy on science & logic instead of ignorance, hate and lies?

Maybe you're a police officer, a prison guard, or a local/national politician. Possibly you're scared of losing employment, overtime pay, the many kickbacks, and those regular fat bribes. But what good will any of that do you once our society has followed Mexico over the dystopian abyss of dismembered bodies, vats of acid, and marauding thugs carrying gold-plated AK-47s with leopard-skinned gunstocks?

Kindly allow us to forgo the next level of your sycophantic prohibition-engendered mayhem.

I did turn two of my children in - one many years ago and just recently. I have to tell you, I would never do it again....the "system" is not what a parent thinks. We hoped for help - all we got was trouble with the possibility of losing our home due to the financial burden that comes along with reporting your children. Believe me, if I could do things differently - I would!

absolutely

Mike B, why do you wish to continue to spend $50 billion a year to prosecute and cage your fellow citizens for choosing substances which are not more dangerous than those of which you yourself probably use and approve of, such as alcohol and tobacco?

Do you honestly expect the rest of us to look on passively while you waste another trillion dollars on this ruinously expensive garbage policy?

Why are you waging war on your own family, friends and neighbors?

Why are you so complacent with the fact that our once 'proud and free' nation now has the largest percentage of it's citizenry incarcerated than any other on the entire planet?

Umm, because it's Illegal...

Lobby your politicians and get it made legal and then many answers here will change. For now it's illegal. Who gets to decide which things that are against the law are the important things and which things aren't that important and should just be ignored? You? Me? Talk about anarchy.

Don't want to go to jail? Don't want to get a ticket? Need some legal advice? To quote a great movie: "Stop breaking the law a$$hole!" It's really not that hard.

And nope, don't smoke, rarely drink, have never done drugs. It's really not that hard to just not use those types of things. Anyone can do it.

Don, why are you helping to fuel a budget crisis to the point of closing hospitals, schools and libraries?

Why do you rejoice at wasting precious resources on prohibition related undercover work while rapists and murderers walk free, while additionally, many cases involving murder and rape do not even get taken to trial because law enforcement priorities are subverted by your beloved failed and dangerous policy?

Why are you a supporter of the 'prison industrial complex' to the extent of endangering our nation's children?

Will you graciously applaud when, due to your own incipient and authoritarian approach, even your own child is caged and raped?

You don't send a person to rehab for Cannabis, it is a non-addictive, non damaging substance, one of the safest know to men!!!People are just plain crazy...

Frank, if you think people can't become deeply dependent on marijuana, talk to someone who works in the wellness field. Call up the Berkeley Free Clinic and ask how many people call them asking for help breaking a marijuana addiction.

N.Peske - habit forming is not the same as Addictive. Many people have spending (shopping) habits that are more damaging than MJ smoking daily is. In addition, you do not Need to Smoke MJ, you could eat, or drink it in tea form, to avoid the smoke dangers.

N Peske, Scientific fact: Marijuana is less addictive than a cup of tea.

http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/basicfax5.htm

Dr. Jack E. Henningfield and Dr. Neal L. Benowitz of the University of California at San Francisco ranked six psychoactive substances on five criteria.

Withdrawal -- The severity of withdrawal symptoms produced by stopping the use of the drug.

Reinforcement -- The drug's tendency to induce users to take it again and again.

Tolerance -- The user's need to have ever-increasing doses to get the same effect.

Dependence -- The difficulty in quitting, or staying off the drug.

Intoxication -- The degree of intoxication produced by the drug in typical use.

The tables listed below show the rankings given for each of the drugs. It is notable that marijuana ranks below caffeine in most addictive criteria.

The rating scale is from 1 to 6 -- 1 denotes the drug with the strongest addictive tendencies, while 6 denotes the drug with the least addictive tendencies.

HENNINGFIELD RATINGS

Substance Withdrawal Reinforcement Tolerance Dependence Intoxication

Nicotine 3 4 2 1 5

Heroin 2 2 1 2 2

Cocaine 4 1 4 3 3

Alcohol 1 3 3 4 1

Caffeine 5 6 5 5 6

Marijuana 6 5 6 6 4

BENOWITZ RATINGS

Substance Withdrawal Reinforcement Tolerance Dependence Intoxication

Nicotine 3 4 4 1 6

Heroin 2 2 2 2 2

Cocaine 3 1 1 3 3

Alcohol 1 3 4 4 1

Caffeine 4 5 3 5 5

Marijuana 5 6 5 6 4

Malcolm, if you Google those researchers via Google Scholar, no recent research comes up, and your link doesn't cite a particular study. You might be interested in this 2009 study, which supports my argument that one can become dependent on cannabis. Marijuana is a problem for many people, including male adolescents self-medicating for ADHD and anxiety. http://www.ijdp.org/article/S0955-3959(09)00050-4/abstract

N.Peske: I have been smoking for 32 years non stop, 2 years ago I stopped for a year and I am still very well and I have a lot of success both professionally and socially so don't tell ME it's bad I know better, people in rehab for Cannabis are just stupid people who don't look at their life to find other problems they have, they are focused on Cannabis because people who don't know Cannabis are afraid of it not because it's dangerous but because the system told them it is but believe me it is not and I know what I am talking about since I studied the question for many years now and never found a real problem with it and anyone medicating for ADHD with anything else than Cannabis are going to have health problems anyway

And apparently it makes you talk in really long, run on sentences...

Drug dependencies are difficult to break, which pro-pot people often like to deny. Again, ask someone in the wellness field about what a struggle it is for people who have developed marijuana dependencies to break free of it.
Also, often these dependencies begin in adolescence, when use of marijuana is most damaging: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120827152039.htm
We need to get serious about teaching our kids HEALTHY ways to achieve self-regulation. Marijuana is not the "harmless" substance the pro-pot folks want to make it out to be in order to justify their habits. Adults are entitled to make poor health decisions--and I do not think marijuana should be illegal. I'd like to see an end to the lies and distortions, however. It is NOT healthy for teens to use marijuana.

Sending a child to therapy because he or she smoked weed habitually would make sense. This would not, necessarily, have to take place in a rehab facility. I don't buy the argument that dependence on marijuana is any healthier than dependence on alcohol. Anyone who needs to be high in order to get through life might benefit from a little self examination and reflection.

Frank, et al.,

I'm a recovering addict. Marijuana was my drug of choice. You're right about it not being addictive in-and-of-itself. But alcoholism/addiction run in my family and so my response to discovering my child beginning to use any mind/mood altering substance would be to raise the consequences in an effort to stop the behavior. Of course, I would not want him to go to prison. But calling the police would not necessarily lead to that--especially on a first arrest possession. But it may get him to go to NA meetings and save his life.

Racist much? "Youths" from Milwaukee in cars with motors running sitting in front of your neighbors house selling drugs. How do you know they are from Milwaukee? Go to WFB (White Folks Bay) juvenile court sometime, I'm sure you will recognize your WFB youth.

Do I need to wake up you parents to let you know that among some of us in the law enforcement community, "Homestead High School" is called "Heroin High?" Yes, statistically speaking, there ARE more drug sellers living in the inner city. That is not racist, it is a FACT. A city too afraid to speak the truth and hide behind "political correctness" will never begin to find a way to heal. However, if you think that your kids cannot buy pot, meth, coke or heroin in the burbs, you are KIDDING yourselves. (We live 20 miles from downtown, and my girls have been offered it all). Search your kids rooms, monitor their e-mail and pray. If they do not possess the steadiness of character in 9th grade to say no to what they will be offered...good luck. They need parents, not best friends, or even worse...divorced parents, afraid to discipline their child for fear of making them angry at them.

@Unions, I am puzzled about why 235301 identifies the "youths" in running cars as coming from Milwaukee. Could it be the color of their skin? That's racist.

Yes throw them in prison to stop them from smoking pot. You are truly a genius.

@Unions, I did just what you recommended and then some. When my son was in elementary school Officer Friendly brought a display case filled with all the various drugs and paraphernalia for parents to view. I attended and asked Officer Friendly how to keep my child on the right track. He said the main thing is peer pressure. You as a parent are in control of who their friends are and what their social circles participate in. Keep your child active. We did and it wasn't always easy. But, it was our decision where he went and who he hung out with. The biggest problem we had was speeding tickets. And that got nipped in the bud quickly when our child had to pay the lawyer fees, fines and insurance on the first offense.

235301, the only people that believe prohibition is working are the ones making a living by enforcing laws in it's name, and those amassing huge fortunes on the black market profits. This situation is wholly unsustainable, and as history has shown us, conditions will continue to deteriorate until we finally, just like our forefathers, see sense and revert back to tried and tested methods of regulation. None of these substances, legal or illegal, are ever going to go away, but we CAN decide to implement policies that do far more good than harm.

During alcohol prohibition in the 1920s, all profits went to enrich thugs and criminals. Young men died every day on inner-city streets while battling over turf. A fortune was wasted on enforcement that could have gone on treatment. On top of the budget-busting prosecution and incarceration costs, billions in taxes were lost. Finally the economy collapsed. Sound familiar?

UnionsNo, Prohibition is an absolute scourge—The End!  The use of drugs is NOT the real problem, the system that grants exclusive distribution rights to violent cartels and terrorists IS.

If you support prohibition then you support bank-rolling criminals and terrorists. There's simply no other logical way of looking at it.

Everybody who supports prohibition needs to understand that there is a human cost associated with this dangerous and failed policy. - Every time you/they assert their support for it they are condemning thousands more to death.

Every-time the ghastly violence of prohibition is falsely blamed on the users, it diminishes the culpability of those who are truly responsible for maintaining the status quo. Prohibition is an absolute scourge -the end! The use of drugs is NOT the real problem, the system that grants exclusive distribution rights to violent cartels and terrorists IS.

@Malcolm Kyle: " and those amassing huge fortunes on the black market " don't forget about the Huge Fortunes being made in the alcohol industry because MJ was made illegal. There is more to this game than most people realize or acknowledge. The Alcohol empire is huge and is a major force behind our leaders. Also look at the war in Afghanistan and what it has done for the growth of the Heroin industry. Our children are dying, being thrown away for this insanity. For what?

Whitefish Bay...northshore

Whitefish Bay.

Yes, you are. Must not have lived here long.

Reports that show Prohibition has failed:

http://idpc.net/publications/failure-regime-selected-publications

The Global Commission on Drug Policy:

http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/Documents.aspx

Reports that show alternative approaches of decriminalization and regulation are working:

http://idpc.net/publications/alternative-strategies-selected-publications

What we can learn from The Portuguese Decriminalization of All Illicit Drugs:

http://bjc.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/6/999.abstract

General report on drug law reform in practice:

http://www.tni.org/report/legislative-innovation-drug-policy

Prohibition by Numbers:

http://www.drugpolicy.org/facts/drug-war-statistics

Final Report of the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy - "Break the Silence and Open A Debate":

http://www.drogasedemocracia.org/English/Destaques.asp?IdRegistro=8

Lessons for Creating Fair and Successful Drug Policies:

http://www.cato.org/pubs/wtpapers/greenwald_whitepaper.pdf

Transform's outstanding (free) book titled, "After The War On Drugs : Blueprints for Regulation" - provides specific proposals on how various drugs can be regulated in the real world:

http://www.tdpf.org.uk/blueprint%20download.htm

Paul, Prohibitionists like yourself dance hand in hand with every possible type of criminal one can imagine —An unholy alliance of ignorance, greed and hate which works to destroy all our hard fought freedoms, wealth and security.

The present drug laws are making matters far worse than they would ever be under proper legalized regulation. Your blind support of prohibition provides the money gangs use to buy guns, and the money that the enemies of this great nation use to finance hijackings and bombings. Taking away their drug money by regulating drugs for adult use will strike a blow to crime at every level. This is none other than sound public policy.

Surely you know by now that Eliot Ness never put the bootleggers out of business. Repeal and a regulated market for alcohol did that in short order. There hasn't been a shootout over beer routes since 1933.

It’s time for you to wise up and help us curtail the dangerous expansions of federal police powers, the encroachments on individual liberties and the increasing government expenditure devoted to enforcing the unworkable policy of drug prohibition.

Agreed. I don't need to police to do my parenting.

Yes it's all the evil "Mexicans", did you get that straight from "reefer madness"? As a matter of fact, white kids smoke more weed than any other race in America. Welcome to reality. Marijuana shouldn't be illegal in the first place, then "drug dealers" wouldn't be selling it. I don't see "drug dealers" selling beer or cigarettes.

@St8shooter, "We must simply obey the law"—Do you mean like laws that segregate? or laws against inter-marriage amongst blacks and whites? or all Jim Crow laws? or the laws instituted by the Nazis against Jews? or the laws that led to the breakdown of society in the US between 1919 and 1933? Laws may mean order - or they can be used to maliciously control, contain, subjugate, persecute and destroy. It is our moral obligation to oppose such laws in any way possible.

Unjust laws don’t get changed by conceding their illegality. They get changed by people standing up against them.

We teach them to use their head. Some laws aren't "legitimate" laws. Remember, all of the founding fathers were "law breakers". It was once "against the law" for a woman to vote. It was once "against the law" to help free a slave. These "laws" are written by politicians, corrupt politicians to be exact. The "laws" against marijuana are no more legitimate than if we started throwing people in prison for smoking cigarettes. Giving them 20 years for transporting coffee. Give them life in prison for a bottle of vodka. You can make "anything" a law. I teach my kids to "think". There would be some SERIOUS consequences if I caught my kid smoking cigarettes, weed, or drinking. But destroying their life and saddling them with a criminal record over a beer or a joint? No, not hardly, not in a thousand years.

Bob, yes talk to your children!

Kids can ask some tough questions but those concerning prohibition are actually fairly easy to answer. Be straightforward: Explain concisely just how the unconscionable acts of parasitic prohibitionists at all levels of our bi-partisan police-state have raised gang warfare to a level not seen since the days of alcohol bootleggin­g; ­how these despicable monsters have creating a prison-for­-profit synergy with evil drug lords and terrorists; how they were able to remove many of our cherished and important civil liberties, putting many previously unknown and contaminate­d drugs on our streets; how they've overcrowd­ing the courts and prisons, making it increasing­ly impossible to curtail the people who are really hurting and terrorizing­ others; and how they've helped to evolve local street gangs into transnatio­nal enterprise­s, with intricate power structures that reach into every corner of society, and with significant social and military resources at their disposal.

Our children need to know that It's always possible to prevent a dire situation turning into an irreversible and very bleak one; kindly explain to them what our very wise forefathers did back in 1933!

Educate, regulate, and tax! 

So does alcohol, my friend! Alcohol makes you feel warm and fuzzy - sometimes, other times it makes you violent. Take a look at how many people have been seriously injured or killed while under the influence of alcohol. Pot impairs you much less than alcohol. Legalize pot, regulate it, and tax it and we will find this country will be in far less debt!

Alcohol will kill you. I still wouldn't have my kid arrested for drinking a beer. That's why I'm the "parent", it's my job to deal with those things. If you need the cops to raise your kid, you've got more problems then some teenager with a joint.

Sunrocket, apart from the fact that legal drugs kill far more people than all the illegal drugs combined, debating whether a particular drug is harmless or not is missing the whole point. Are drugs like Heroin, Meth or Alcohol dangerous? It simply doesn't matter, because if we prohibit them then we sure as hell know that it makes a bad situation far worse. If someone wants to attempt to enhance or destroy their lives with particular medicines or poisons, that should be their business, not anybody else's. Their lives aren't ours to direct. And anyway, who wants to give criminals, terrorists and corrupt law enforcement agents a huge un-taxed, endless revenue stream?

A great many of us are slowly but surely wising up to the fact that the best avenue towards realistically dealing with drug use and addiction is through proper regulation which is what we already do with alcohol & tobacco, clearly two of our most dangerous mood altering substances. But for those of you whose ignorant and irrational minds traverse a fantasy plane of existence, you will no doubt remain sorely upset with any type of solution that does not seem to lead to your absurd and unattainable utopia of a drug free society.

We don't see a black market in alcohol. Take the big money out of the equation and the BM will dry up.

That's as realistic as cutting your kids foot off if you catch them driving above the speed limit. You failed as a parent, nothing more, nothing less.

Tina, according to Paul Craig Roberts, a former editor of the Wall Street Journal and former assistant secretary to the treasury under Ronald Reagan, "Police in the US now rival criminals, and exceed terrorists as the greatest threat to the American public."

"Narcotics police are an enormous, corrupt international bureaucracy and now fund a coterie of researchers who provide them with ‘scientific support’, fanatics who distort the legitimate research of others. The anti-marijuana campaign is a cancerous tissue of lies, undermining law enforcement, aggravating the drug problem, depriving the sick of needed help, and suckering well-intentioned conservatives and countless frightened parents."  – William F. Buckley, Commentary in The National Review, April 29, 1983, p. 495

There is no conflict between liberty and safety. We will have both or neither.
William Ramsey Clark (1927--)

Tina, you have failed as a parent, now hang your head in shame!

Heree's a12 yr Univ study that says Marijuana isn't a gateway drug.
Andrew Hryckowian - University of Pittsburgh
www.pitt.edu/~ugr/Hrych2.pdf

December 11, 2006 • University of Pittsburgh •... Marijuana is not a “gateway” drug

"Evidence provides no indication that decriminalization leads to a measurable increase in marijuana use."

— Boston University Department of Economics

"There is little evidence that decriminalization of marijuana use necessarily leads to a substantial increase in marijuana use."

— National Academy of Sciences

"The preponderance of the evidence which we have gathered and examined points to the conclusion that decriminalization has had virtually no effect either on the marijuana use or on related attitudes and beliefs about marijuana use among American young people."

— The University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research

"The Dutch experience, together with those of a few other countries with more modest policy changes, provides a moderately good empirical case that removal of criminal prohibitions on cannabis possession (decriminalization) will not increase the prevalence of marijuana or any other illicit drug; the argument for decriminalization is thus strong."

— British Journal of Psychiatry

They can legally consume a deadly drug, but if they touch a plant lets throw them in prison? Marvelous

I agree wholeheartedly with you CatMM. Who are we to judge this woman without more information than this article provides? Even then I think we'd be sticking our noses in where they have no business being. Who knows what she's been going through with that kid? I'm certain she has his best interests at heart, as any mother would. Maybe she knows this may be the wake up call he needs.

I know what you went through was very difficult. I am happy that you have your daughter with you today. Our beautiful daughter overdosed by sniffing Xanax. When my husband & I discovered she was doing this, she agreed & my husband took her to a treatment center every week. Sadly, 9 months later, she died. The young man's place she went to, grew up in Muskego & he had 6 different prescriptions for pills from 6 different doctors. We never used any drugs, we also, always talked to our children about the devastation of drug use. She made a fatal choice....................

You're trying to compare heroin with weed? Have another drink....

I'm so so sorry, Diane M Smith for the loss of your daughter. It sounds like you did all the right things- sometimes it still doesn't work. We can't control every thing they do, as much as we would like to. So sad. :(

Diane M Smith, your daughter was killed by the failed policy of prohibition.

In addition to the many societal costs of prohibition, it has a long history of driving the spread of harder or more dangerous drugs.

Marijuana to dangerous synthetic concoctions —such as AM-2201, spice, or bath salts.
Poppies to morphine, to heroine, to krokodil.
Coca to cocaine, to crack, to Paco/Kete/Bazuco/Pitillo.
Ephedra to ephedrine, to speed, to methamphetamine.
Mushrooms to ecstasy (MDMA), to PMMA, to 2CB/designers.

At every step the reasons for the rise in popularity of the new form of the drug are one or more of the following:

* It may be easier to smuggle.
* It may be more addictive, thus compelling the buyer to return more frequently.
* It may be cheaper to produce, therefore yielding more profit.
* Like a game of "whack a mole" a shutdown of producers in one area will mean business opportunities for another set of producers with a similar product.

Prohibition's distortion of the immutable laws of 'supply and demand' subsidizes organized crime, foreign terrorists, corrupt cops, and unconscionable politicians, while feeding the prejudices of self-appointed culture warriors everywhere.

What are your recommendations for punishment of an 18 year old drug user?? I would be really interested in knowing what you think would prove effective in this case.

You cant figure it out on your own? Its not my job to tell you how to raise your kids nor is it the police or governments job. If the child is 18 it really is none of your business what they do.

You're kidding, right? After 18, it's none of our business - we shouldn't care?? Do you have kids? If you do, (and I'm hoping you don't), you'd realize that your responsiblity and love never ends, no matter how old they are.

Sorry, didn't realize that no one is entitled to an opinion but you. You win.

I couldn't agree more sanchez!

I didn't see anything concerning a drug user in this article? It's about a kid that as been caught with Cannabis, if he uses it himself he is preventing so many illnesses and diseases it is impossible to lst them all here but do a little bit of research and you will find very serious scientific studies that demonstrate that Cannabis can cure and/or prevent cancer it really is the tree of life that keeps people using it happy, healthy and peaceful so it is completely crazy to outlaw such a blessing for humanity

LOL @ Mike

Dude, you gained all that knowledge of me how? How about adding something valuable to this debate? Do you lack the intellect to be able to add anything worthy of discussion or do you just get your jollies off attacking people?

Bingo, great comment!

18 year old kid. It is really none of your business what they do. Turning them in to the police makes you an enemy, not a parent and you deserve to be shunned by your kids if you are so pathetic that you cant figure out a solution other than handing off YOUR responsibility to the government.

...."...when a child breaks a serious enough law...." That's just plain stupid.

Exactly, if I saw my kid "jaywalking" should I call the cops? After all, jaywalking can be deadly!

If you would put your kid in jail over some weed, you are an idiot. Smoking a plant isn't going to kill them, getting caught up in the criminal justice system might. Another clown who thinks it's the governments job to raise their kids. And we all know how well the government does these massive undertakings. No wonder we have more people in prison than any other country on earth.

when was the last time someone overdosed on marijuana? You dont know what you are talking about. Dont even say that lame gateway drug excuse. Drugs are pushed on kids and adults everyday by doctors... Cant pay attention, here have some ritalin. Depressed, we have a pill for that...

save their life? people don't die from smoking pot I mean maybe you could claim that if they were bangin' heroin or smoking crack but LOTS of successful people smoke pot and no one has ever died as a direct result of smoking marijuana. you cannot even overdose on it!

If you don't know the difference between "deadly drugs" and marijuana, you shouldn't be commenting.

"serious enough" is the key phrase here. And whether or not pot possession is "serious" or not is an opinion. We know where you stand. But most of the posters here don't consider pot possession as live threatening as you apparently do. You need a serious lesson in risk assessment. There are soooo many things that are much more life-threatening than smoking pot. Go ahead; turn your kid in for texting while driving. Now THAT IS "serious enough."

"surveil your child 24hours a day for the rest of their life"

what the hell are you talking about? When a child turns 18 they are free to make their own decisions. It does not matter if you agree with them and their decisions at that point are none of your business.

Marijuana possession is a victimless crime, it hurts no one. It is nothing like other crimes and isnt even comparable. Setting up a block watch for marijuana possession, thats just ridiculous...

You have 18 years to teach a kid about consequences and respecting laws... Not sure why you dont understand that when someone is 18 they are an adult and free to make their own decisions, every last one..

Your an idiot Mike... Waste of oxygen..

How are you saving your child's life by saddling them with a criminal record? Saving them from what, marijuana?

Not sure why I would have to show qualifications or prove anything to anyone.. Again people like you are overstepping boundaries, my life is none of your business just as an 18 year old kids decisions are none of your business.

Kids are taught at a young age that drugs make you feel better: have a headache or pain, take some aspirin. Have depression or mood swings, take a pill. Hyperactivity, take some Ritalin.. Want to catch a buzz, drink a beer. How exactly is marijuana any different or more of a gateway drug than anything else?

So you saw a supposed overdose of marijuana but it had some other substance mixed with it. How did marijuana cause the overdose then? Maybe the other substance was something that was taken from a parents pill cabinet?

I'm kind of surprised you thought turning him into the police would ever end in a good way. We live in a digital world. Handcuffing your child for the rest of their life all over a beer? I just don't understand what some people are thinking.

Why aren't his juvenile records sealed?
Is he under the care of a therapist via your health insurance?
Have you considered helping him create a freelance job using his current skills and building upon them with education? Did he attend or graduate from college? Is it possible he could do so and have a side-job as a self-employed person, with you helping him learn the skills to manage his small business?
There are physical interventions for mild to moderate depression: exercise, time outdoors, natural supplements. A good nutritionist might be able to make a big dent in his mood. It also sounds as if he's got to find ways to release his grief over his losses. Is there any way you can get him back into therapy?
Wishing the best to you and your son.

Not true at all. Peer pressure is more to blame for drug use than bad parenting. You can be a great parent to your own kid but how do you know what the other kids they hang around with are like? Some kids listen to their friends more than their parents.

WRONG! I know wonderful, devoted, involved, parents whose children use and are addicts. Most parents do the best they can with what they've got.

I have to agree with you. Calling the cops to raise your kids? Give me a break, lazy parenting.

@Mike Knight...You don't sound like someone who actually has kids. I'm fairly confident that my young adult kids don't do drugs. If they ever did, it didn't go beyond experimentation. Nonetheless, I know great parents whose kids have done drugs habitually. In some cases, it's just one kid who does drugs and another who doesn't so it's hard to blame that outcome on poor parenting. There are any number of reasons that kids will try drugs. Peer pressure and curiosity are at the top of the list. Self medication for anxiety and/or depression is another often overlooked reason kids turn to drugs. Sometimes, when parental discipline is too harsh, kids will use drugs to cope with the feelings of alienation and worthlessness. They may also seek the warmth of a more accepting peer group. Parenting can only go so far in insulating kids against life. We teach them as much as we can and then hope for the best.

Where in the article does it say anything about the way the guy was driving?

I gave you my answer: an 18 year old ADULTS decisions are their decisions, not yours. You can and should always talk to your kid but you do not run their life anymore. If you involve the police in THEIR decisions that harm no one but themselves you are disrespecting their PRIVATE PROPERTY which is their body that they and they alone have full jurisdiction over upon reaching the age of 18.

Show some proof that there are marijuana related murders, and robberies. I think you are making up stories or are just lumping marijuana in with all other illegal drugs.

Show me proof of a marijuana overdose not one that was caused by something else added to marijuana which could have just as easily been added to tobacco.

You can't create a black market and then step back in "horror" when that black market becomes deadly. You are the moron lighting the fire, the responsibility is yours. The people who supported the prohibition of alcohol created the Mafia. You have created the cartels. You support the cartels. You contribute to the cartels. You are responsible for the cartels. You cannot wash your hands of prohibition, if you support it, you are responsible for it.

If your child wants to be free at age 18 to make all of their own decisions, then they better be completely self supporting, living on their own, driving their own cars. etc....
Obviously some of these comments are coming from people that ARE 18 or not much older, not from parents who know that you never stop worrying about them on that magic 18th birthday.

CatMM- what is so Magic about being 18? You cannot buy Alcohol or a Handgun. The Magic Age is still 21, but even that is not true thanks to the current administration and changes to the healthcare industry; now it's 26. Pretty soon people will be 30 before they have to start taking responsibility for themselves, what a joke of a society.

Daniel S, there is nothing magic about turning 18. I was answering Sanchez's posts about how 18 year olds are adults and how its none of their parents business what they do at that age. I was being sarcastic.

Rio, 21, was sentenced by Circuit Judge Timothy Dugan on a charge of
felony murder. Rio, of Sharon, earlier pleaded guilty in the Nov. 28
slaying of Shaun J. Cobbledick of Saukville.

In the same way that the robbery wasn't Rio's idea, the would-be
marijuana deal that led to Cobbledick's death wasn't his idea.
According to a criminal complaint, Cobbledick came to Milwaukee with
some friends on behalf of his roommate.

The roommate, who had to go to work, gave Cobbledick $300 for 3 ounces
of marijuana and another friend gave Cobbledick $50 for a half-ounce
of the drug.

Unknown to Cobbledick and his friends, a woman who set up the drug
deal did so with a narcotics dealer who instead planned a rip-off.
Rio, who met the dealer through a Milwaukee man he got to know in the
Walworth County Jail, was broke when the dealer gave him a pistol and
talked him into ripping off the suburban kids.

Rio's previous convictions were for battery and theft, both
misdemeanors.

To complete the supposed transaction, Cobbledick drove off alone with
Rio, according to the complaint. Rio had Cobbledick drive to an alley
in the 1400 block of S. 10th St., where he robbed him at gunpoint.
Rio later told police that Cobbledick was shot during a subsequent
struggle for the pistol, according to the complaint. Rio left
Cobbledick slumped in his friend's car with a bullet hole in his head
and the engine running.

My apology CatMM, sometimes it gets to be a bit much to follow the replies to these blogs. I would agree to an extent, that at 18 they should be responsible, but as a human parent, I believe our responsibility to help them, especially with logical advice lasts till we take our last breath.

You're right, Daniel. They should have a "Reply" button for each comment. I know as a parent, I won't stop worrying about the welfare of either of my kids until the day I die. You don't stop being a parent no matter what their age.

"they were weed deals gone bad"

proof or it didnt happen. I want to see evidence that this happens in Milwaukee.

"they were weed deals gone bad"
proof or it didnt happen. I want to see evidence that this happens in Milwaukee." It took me awhile to find an article about this. It has stuck in my mind for years since I remember when it happened and remember the family. Here is where I found the article: http://www.marijuanalibrary.org/980520.html. I was trying to copy it and put it here, but its too long for a comment. Read the part about Sean Cobbledick of Saukville.

What makes you think I am Latino? I am a gringo esse. I only swore because someone insulted me first.

Odd that you say I didnt make good points but then you basically repeat everything I have been saying.

@Floria..."The only crime id turn my kids in for would be murder.'...REALLY? How about Rape, Arson, Kidnapping, Aggravated (that means broken bones, teeth etc) Battery, Car Theft, Illegally Possessing a Weapon...etc? That is just a few off the top of my head. As they say, kids don't usually just go out and commit a felony. It is usually a pattern of behavior: they become ""Frequent Fliers" along the way, starting with vandalism, underage drinking, then breaking curfew to pot possession...from there, OWI, battery, domestic violence...and so it goes. I would hope you would take the time (and love for your child) to turn them in for a felony than murder. I hope you were joking.

@Unions No: there certainly is much thought needed with regard to some of the thoughts here. Illegal weapon possession? Depends, if I found it or not. If I found it, I'd dispose of it properly. Although, that could open up myself to being murdered by my own child. There would definitely be a discussion that was extremely serious. If I knew there was rape involved or child molestation, I would first contact a lawyer and reputable psychologist. Circumstances would have to be weighed in serious conditions as these. But where other lives are involved, they would definitely need to submit to evaluation and admit to authorities their crime. I would hope that seeking help of medical professionals and an attorney that they would be given the opportunity to turn their life around. If they did not willingly submit to those terms, I would have little choice but to do what was right by the life of other humans.

Why do you think it'll be a minor ticket? The mom basically allowed the police to give her son a criminal record. The Draconian way our society treats drug offenses is almost Taliban like. Please don't look for compassion from police, prosecutors or the courts.

and then change its name to Muskego Penitentiary..

I think they actually have a "school" like that in North Korea! Great Idea mike

What, you a rocket scientist or something?

lol

Well said Joey, at least I know that it's not all Americans who are stupid, a few of them are clever!!! A few is better than none!!!

Protect them from what exactly? "DRUGS"? You mean cigarettes, alcohol, coffee, weed, prescription drugs? What drugs exactly? There are different kinds of drugs, I don't need the "law" to tell me which ones are dangerous. I'd be FAR more concerned if I found my daughter smoking cigarettes or drinking beer, those are two of the most deadly "DRUGS" on earth. That doesn't mean I'd send them to jail for it, prison is more dangerous than weed. The criminal justice system has claimed more lives this week than the "DRUG" marijuana has. I'm not fixing my kids toothache with a sledge hammer. Send them to jail over a plant? A "DRUG" that according to all polling will be as legal as whiskey in the not too distant future? If you need the cops to raise your children, you are a failure as a parent. I don't need the police to help me discipline my child, I'm not an idiot.

Andy: I would not turn anyone smoking and or selling Cannabis because even if this person doesn't know, they are helping people have a good health and this is by far the best thing anyone could do. And yes every children should be protected, they are our future, if you don't protect them today, one day you will be to old to take care of yourself and guess who's gonna help you or not! Yes the today's kid...

I just spit coffee all over my screen reading this...What can I do differently? Seriously? This is EXACT problem with todays kids. They are NEVER held responsible for their messups.

Exactly - And I think that people are forgetting, it's illegal. Whether you 'enjoy' it, or whatever you feelings are about it, it's Illegal. Simple as that.

Actually Kristi, it's not as simple as that. There are ZERO logical reasons for it to be ILLEGAL and ALCOHOL to be LEGAL. Now that is Simple. I would think the citizens of the USA would be tired of being delivered manure from the leaders of this country by now . . . . guess more people like that country smell 24 hrs a day than I thought.

PS - It's Illegal to Speed, blow red lights, cheat on your taxes; there are lots of things people do regularly that are illegal and the reason . . . . they don't seem the harm in it, they feel they deserve the tax break, etc., etc. . . . .