HOSTING `WEEDSTOCK' MAY GET MORE DIFFICULT

The Assembly will vote on a bill next week that may make it more
difficult for landowners to host "Weedstock" - Wisconsin's annual festival to
celebrate marijuana, the three-pronged leaf that is the illegal drug of choice
for some state residents.

Crawford County officials last year sued the landowner who hosted a
recent Weedstock because he hadn't obtained the proper county permits. But
the state's Department of Health and Family Services, which regulates
campgrounds, already had issued a permit, so a Crawford County Circuit
Court judge threw out the case.

Under a bill before the Assembly next week (AB88), counties would have
to issue their permits before the state permit could become valid.

"It's not designed directly at Weedstock," said Rep. DuWayne Johnsrud,
a Republican rancher from Eastman and the sponsor of the bill. "But
the time works out real well."

County permits should be required, he said, because they're usually
the ones required to provide police, fire and emergency services, he
said.

"It only makes sense that these folks must check with counties and
towns before holding the event," he said.

One of the landowners considering renting land for this year's
Weedstock is Marcus Gumz, a Sauk County mint farmer and write-in
candidate for attorney general last year. Gumz also is the father of
Rep. Sheryl Albers, R-Loganville, a conservative and influential
lawmaker who sits on the Joint Finance Committee.