PAMPHLET TEACHES PARENTS ABOUT DRUGS

The Central Wisconsin Drug Task Force has created a pamphlet to teach
every area parent about drugs their children already know too much
about.

Methamphetamine and so-called "club drugs" such as ecstasy are
becoming more popular in the region, and parents should know where
they come from and what damage they can cause, say police on the task
force.

Kathy Scholze was surprised by the information in the pamphlet, which
soon will be distributed in seven counties. She's a customer service
representative for Fey Publishing Co. of Wisconsin Rapids, the firm
that designed the pamphlet.

"There's a lot of things out there that you don't normally know about
until you see it in writing or hear about it," Scholze said. "A lot of
times jobs come like this (drug pamphlet) where it more kind of hits
home."

Police have found the first methamphetamine labs in central Wisconsin
in recent years. They also know children will travel hundreds of miles
to attend raves, all-night parties with high-speed music and dancing
that often are laced with drugs including ecstasy, psylocibin and GHB.
Marijuana, cocaine, rohypnol, ketamine and LSD are increasingly
available along with prescription medications.

"Drugs which are making their way toward and into our communities are
dangerous and, in cases, deadly," Wood County Sheriff Kurt Heuer said.
"Education and awareness goes a long way in preventing increased drug
problems in our communities."

Using a federal grant administered by the Wisconsin Office of Justice
Assistance, the Drug Task Force printed 100,000 pamphlets titled
"Drugs Can Kill." The Task Force consists of the Adams, Juneau,
Marquette, Portage, Waupaca, Waushara and Wood counties' sheriff's
departments, and the Grand Rapids, Marshfield, Stevens Point and
Wisconsin Rapids police departments.

The pamphlet started with a focus on club drugs and then grew to
include a range of illegal substances that children encounter, said
Investigator Mike Webster of the Wood County Sheriff's Department. The
pamphlets contain basic information about the drugs today's children
use and are exposed to by peers. Law enforcement agencies hope to get
them into the hands of as many parents as possible.

Marshfield Police Detective Jackie Albers said many parents are
unaware of the drugs their children see each day.

"Especially in our city where we've developed a small-town,
nothing-bad-ever-happens-here mindset," Albers said. "I think parents
are going to be amazed at the information they see, and they'd be
amazed at what their kids are doing."

The Marshfield Police Department will work through the schools to get
the pamphlets in the hands of parents of junior and senior high school
students.

In Portage County, Sheriff John Charewicz plans to pass out the
pamphlets at school events attended by parents. The brochure is well
done, but it's only the first step, Charewicz said.

"What we need to worry about is whether people are going to use the
information or even read the information," he said. "There's so much
more out there than there was a generation ago."