Browsing: Criminal Justice

Federal enforcement of cannabis laws in Wisconsin has been minimal in recent years, with only 67 individuals sentenced for federal marijuana crimes since 2017 and none at all in the Western District between 2020 and 2023.

By one measure, Outagamie and Brown at top of list Meth is injected, smoked, snorted or ingested in just about…

A Milwaukee County judge lambasted the Milwaukee School Board in a rare broadside aimed at finally getting cops back in MPS high schools.

The total number of incarcerated persons in Wisconsin’s prisons ticked up between 2023 and 2024 but is still lower than its pre-COVID level.

In 2023, the drug most often identified in samples sent by law enforcement to the State Crime Lab was meth, which accounted for 1,378 of the 4,805 samples tested — more than cocaine or heroin or fentanyl or even THC, the active ingredient in cannabis.

While Milwaukee continues to struggle putting sworn officers on the streets, the police departments in Wisconsin’s other largest cities are at or fast approaching full staffing.

The median time it takes to close out felony criminal cases is down 5% from 2022 to 2023, and the median misdemeanor criminal case is reaching a conclusion 2% faster, according to figures from the Wisconsin Court System.

While Wisconsin rarely prosecutes possession or sale of larger amounts of marijuana, some municipalities are much more likely than others to prosecute less serious violations.

In the 2023-24 school year, MPS schools called police 1,245 times for help with allegations of everything from armed robbery to sexual assault to felony theft.

MPS may regret its ongoing resistance to the state’s resource officer requirement the next time it comes to the Legislature looking for tax money.

There will be no police officers in Milwaukee Public Schools when classes begin this Tuesday, violating a requirement that is part of the current state budget.

The average potency of cannabis products – illegal and legal – is higher today than it was in past decades both domestically and abroad. The current data and research available do not conclusively indicate that such trends are driven by cannabis legalization, but there is initial evidence indicating that part of this trend is being driven by consumer preference for more potent forms of cannabis which appear to be more readily available in legal markets.

Demand for legal cannabis products is elastic, so states must consider this fact when setting tax rates. If taxes are set too high, legalization will not deter users from exiting legacy illegal markets.

For too long to remember, MPS has been mired in mediocrity, unable to move forward on anything with any sort of urgency. There’s abundant evidence that more money will not produce better outcomes, but even more evidence that MPS typically moves slightly slower than the speed of your average hermit crab race.

It is imperative the specialized dockets for commercial cases be created in order for swifter and more certain justice to prevail.

The Badger Institute summarizes relevant findings related to medical marijuana given the arrival of legislation that would allow its use in Wisconsin.

Cannabis legalization might be a policy that many would assume is a negative for a state’s workforce, but Badger Institute analysis of the limited available research paints a much more complex and positive picture.

The research shows that more adults will use cannabis if it is legal to use in any form. When it comes to youth use of cannabis, the research is still highly disputed, but the available research and data indicate there have not been dramatic increases in youth use of the substance when it becomes legal.

Homicides, as in other parts of the country, have risen in Wisconsin in recent years. According to figures gathered and published by the FBI, Milwaukee suffers more than half of homicides in Wisconsin in most years, though the city has about one-tenth of the state’s population.

There is a real possibility for cannabis reform to result in public safety gains for the Badger State but the tradeoffs that must be accepted are a significant reduction in safety on the state’s highways and roads and an increase in minor property and nuisance crimes near cannabis dispensaries if the state were to establish a commercial market for either medical or adult-use products.