SHARED 'FUNNY-TASTING' BROWNIES DON'T AMUSE

Giving new meaning to the term "high art," a high school student in western
Wisconsin was charged with passing out brownies laced with marijuana during
an art class.

Ross G. Hobson, 17, of Hudson faces up to 59 years in prison after he was
charged Wednesday with eight felony counts of being a party to the crime of
delivering marijuana, one count for each Hudson High School student who
allegedly ate or was given a brownie. Some students said they noticed seeds
and stems in the brownies and spit out the dessert because it tasted funny.

Hobson was released on a $10,000 signature bond and ordered to return to
St. Croix County Circuit Court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing.

He told authorities he got the brownies from someone in the parking lot of
a Hudson sandwich shop where he works. He said he knew the brownies
contained marijuana and that he "just wanted to get rid of them, so he gave
them to students in the art class," according to the criminal complaint.

A teacher noticed students eating brownies Tuesday morning, got suspicious
and notified authorities. Deputies discovered crumbled brownies in a
plastic bag in Hobson's backpack.

In addition to criminal charges, Hobson could face disciplinary action in
school for allegedly violating the school district's anti-drug policy, said
high school Principal Beth Lanning. At the beginning of the school year,
each student receives a handbook outlining the policy at the school of
about 1,300 students.

"We certainly would not want that type of behavior, and we respond to any
instance of possession or use or distribution (of drugs) immediately and
potentially would refer it to the (school) board for a student to be
expelled," said Lanning, who has been principal for four years.

Hobson is accused of bringing a paper plate full of brownies to his
second-hour ceramics class. Several students said they took bites out of
the brownies because they were hungry or wanted to try the brownies after
Hobson allegedly told them the brownies were laced with marijuana, the
complaint said.

One student said she was walking by the classroom, noticed people standing
around a table with a plate of brownies on it and asked if she could have
one. She said she bit down on something that tasted like a stick, assumed
there was marijuana in the brownie and spit it out.

The charges carry an additional penalty since the alleged incident happened
in a school.