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Penalties and punishments for marijuana sale and cultivation
Certain areas of the country have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational use. However, in Wisconsin, it continues to be illegal with the exception of non-psychoactive medical CBD oil, which is used to treat a limited range of conditions.
In spite of the illegality of marijuana, some individuals are selling and cultivating the plant unlawfully. As such, state and federal law enforcement officials are actively investigating any suspected cultivation and sale activity.
However, police do not always arrest individuals appropriately for these offenses. For example, you might have been accused of marijuana cultivation simply because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or, you might have been accused of marijuana sales when you were not selling the drug, but merely in possession of it.
What will happen if I'm convicted of marijuana sale or cultivation?
If accused of marijuana sale or cultivation -- and convicted of the offense by a court of law -- individuals can face serious criminal consequences. Here are the penalties and punishments associated with a conviction of marijuana sale and cultivation in Wisconsin. If convicted of selling or cultivating marijuana in the amount of:
Distracted driving and impaired driving continue to be a problem
Traffic deaths are rising in Wisconsin. Last month, 66 people died in car crashes, representing an increase by three from the same month last year. The increase in traffic deaths is particularly unfortunate considering the improvements in car safety and road safety over the years. Experts blame the increase in traffic deaths on distracted driving, impaired driving and failure to wear seat belts.
Due to the increase in traffic fatalities, Wisconsin police are making a stronger effort than ever to enforce intoxicated driving and distracted driving laws. That means that police are eager to pull over anyone who appears like he or she might be intoxicated behind the wheel. They will also pull over those who appear to be texting while driving or using their social media accounts while they're driving.
As a part of this process, Wisconsin will be participating in the annual Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign. This law enforcement campaign targets intoxicated drivers and it goes from mid-August to Labor Day.
Woman accused of abusing her power of attorney privileges
A Wisconsin woman has been charged with six felony-level crimes relating to her duties as a man's power of attorney. Officials allege that she failed to pay a man's health care bills and instead, she used the money for her personal expenses.
The 59-year-old woman allegedly abused her power of attorney privileges to steal money from the man she was caring for. Police in New Glarus first received news of the alleged theft in August 2016. Green County Human Services notified them that the woman was allegedly stealing.
Prosecutors say that the woman was paying her utility bills and mortgage payments with the man's money instead of paying his health care bills. Prosecutors also say that she was purchasing personal items that didn't have anything to do with the services she provided to care for the man.
Police arrested the woman last Monday. She is facing three charges of theft in a business setting and three charges of identity theft. All are felony charges that could land her in jail if she is convicted.
Woman accused of drunk driving after crashing into a tent
Police have arrested and accused a woman of drunk driving after she drove into a tent full of people. The collision resulted in seven people inside the tent suffering injuries. The tent was located at a campground in River of Lakes in Grant County, where the accident happened late on a recent Saturday night.
The Grant County Sheriff's Office alleges that the 32-year-old woman who crashed into the tent was inebriated when the accident happened at approximately 10 p.m. Allegedly, she lost control of her sport utility vehicle while trying to maneuver a left-hand turn along campground road while driving through the camping area. Police say that the woman drove into the tent, and then backed over the tent another time.
Four of the injured people inside the tent were taken to Crossing River Hospital in Prairie Du Chien. Three were taken to Grant Regional Hospital in Lancaster. The extent of the injuries are unknown. Fortunately, as of last reports, all of the victims survived.
Is the War on Drugs just modern Prohibition?
The so-called War on Drugs has criminalized drug use in the United States. Even so, drugs continue to be common. Some have compared it to Prohibition and the failed Eighteenth Amendment.
Prohibition was simply the banning of alcohol. Many of the same reasons for Prohibition are used for the War on Drugs: increasing public health, lowering crime rates and the like.
However, Prohibition failed completely. After only a couple of years, people were drinking anywhere from 60 to 70 percent as much alcohol as they had been before, so there wasn't a very good decline in use. Moreover, illegally produced alcohol often had a lower quality and a higher potency, so overdoses and alcohol poisoning were common.
On top of that, Prohibition created a criminal empire centered around the production and distribution of illegal alcohol. Crime went up and corruption flourished.
Plus, the banning of alcohol pushed some people to other drugs. Instead of drinking, they started using cocaine and opium.
Which drug leads to the most arrests in Wisconsin?
Studies have been carried out to see which drugs are used most commonly across the United States, with results giving some indication of which drugs are most likely to lead to an arrest. In Wisconsin, it turns out that drug treatment centers most often deal with marijuana.
This is a common theme. Marijuana is also most common in Wyoming, Washington, Virginia, Texas, South Dakota, South Carolina, Oregon, Oklahoma, Ohio, North Dakota, North Carolina, Montana, Missouri, Mississippi, Minnesota, Michigan, Louisiana, Kansas, Iowa, Indiana, Idaho, Hawaii, Florida, Colorado, Arkansas, Alaska and Alabama.
The second most-common drug listed by treatment centers was cocaine. This too was common, as cocaine often ended up second on the list. It never topped that list, but did show very high usage levels all across the United States. The closest it got to the top was in Washington, D.C., though it was tied with heroin.
Another common drug, which wasn't used as often in Wisconsin, was methamphetamine. This doesn't mean it isn't used of that arrests aren't made, but it was No. 1 in states like Utah, Nevada, and Nebraska.
Milwaukee man arrested and accused of heroin crimes
A man who has a drug dealing conviction on his criminal record was accused of selling heroin in Green Bay. The Brown County Drug Task Force arrested him on a recent Thursday.
Authorities say that 33-year-old man committed 10 felonies in addition to a misdemeanor. All of his alleged crimes relate to Oxycontin and heroin, which police say he was hiding in smoke detectors. Police also say they discovered thousands of dollars in cash inside the tank of the man's toilet.
The Assistant District attorney highlighted the man's criminal background in court by telling the judge that he had multiple drug convictions on his record. In fact, he has at least three drug crime convictions on his record relating to buying and selling narcotics, including cocaine.
As of last reports, the accused man was being held on cash bond of $50,000, and his next court date had been set for Aug. 3. In the meantime, the judge ordered him not to attempt contact with two women who were with him at the time of the arrest. One of the woman happens to be the mother of his child.
Drunk drivers no longer staying in jail for 12 hours
In Wood County, Wisconsin, the rules used to state that someone who had been picked up for drunk driving had to stay behind bars for at least 12 hours. Obviously, it could be longer if there were other charges, but simple DUI arrests meant 12 hours in jail to sober up.
Not anymore. Now, police are able to let drivers go before the 12-hour mark if they have a responsible adult who can take care of them.
For example, a 21-year-old college student who was picked up on DUI charges could be released to his or her parents.
Some say that the change is a good one, as it opens up jail space and may help save money. Others argue that these drivers need more time behind bars and are putting others in danger if they get out early.
The sheriff did explain it by pointing out that the people being released had simply been accused and arrested, not convicted. People who will eventually be cleared in court are arrested for DUIs all of the time, and it's dangerous to assume they're guilty. Legally speaking, everyone has the right to be presumed innocent unless the court shows otherwise.
3 reasons a breath test may be wrong
You did drink a little bit before getting behind the wheel. You had a glass of wine with dinner. However, it was just one glass, you never even felt buzzed, and you ate an entire meal. You didn't think you were impaired and assumed your Blood Alcohol Concentration was pretty close to zero.
However, when the police pulled you over for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, you told the officer you'd had a drink. You wanted to be honest and didn't think you were drunk, not by a long shot. The officer asked to do a breath test, and you agreed to it, figuring it was the fastest way to get done and on your way home.
Then you blew a 0.09.
You felt shocked. The police arrested you and charged you with drunk driving. You understood why -- you'd seen those results -- but what you didn't know was how you could possibly be anywhere close to the limit, let alone over it. You think the test must have been wrong.
Don't assume there's nothing to do or that you just have to accept the test. You do have options. For instance, here are three reasons a test may be wrong or unreliable.
Who can't own a gun in Wisconsin?
The Second Amendment famously gives people in the United States -- including Wisconsin -- the right to bear arms. However, don't make the mistake of thinking that this right extends to everyone or can't be taken away. Under certain circumstances, it can, and not everyone is allowed to own a gun.
For example, under state law, anyone who has been charged with and then convicted of a felony is barred from owning a gun. If you have felony assault charges on your record, for example, then it's illegal to own a gun, even if you acquired it lawfully in the past.
The law also extends to say that it's illegal for anyone to own a gun if he or she has been convicted of a crime in another state, if that crime would have been a felony in Wisconsin. While many felonies are the same everywhere, this shows that you can't simply move to another state and get your gun ownership rights back. If you lost them in Michigan or California, you also lost them in Wisconsin.
Finally, state law says that those who are not convicted on the basis of insanity or mental defect are also not able to own firearms. These pleas can sometimes get a person out of the initial charges -- claiming he or she was not mentally capable of understanding the crime, for instance -- but Wisconsin says that's not enough for the gun ownership rights to stay in place.
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