MARIJUANA ARRESTS DROP IN CITY, UP IN SUBURBS

A year after Milwaukee officials decriminalized possession of small amounts
of marijuana, newly released state figures show the number of
marijuana-related arrests, both criminal and non-criminal, has declined in
the city while similar arrests in the suburbs continue to grow.

City officials, academics and police officers disagree as to why there was
a 6% drop-off in the number of pot arrests, while police activity in the
suburbs against marijuana use rose 7.5% over the same period.

One suburban police detective speculated that decreasing city figures
indicate that arrests for sale and possession have taken a lower priority
in Milwaukee to more serious crimes.

A suburban police chief said marijuana-related arrests continue to increase
outside of Milwaukee because suburban police forces aggressively pull
vehicles over for traffic violations and marijuana is found in many of
those instances.

The head of the Milwaukee Police Association believes that
decriminalization has demoralized police efforts to curb drug use, a
contention that a top police official said was untrue.

Yet others said it was simply too early to judge the impact of
decriminalization. They view the dip in Milwaukee arrests as meaningless.

Ald. Michael J. Murphy, who introduced Milwaukee's decriminalization
measure last year, questioned the significance of the numbers. He pushed
for the new law to balance penalties with those in the suburbs where
marijuana possession is generally a non-criminal offense.

"The numbers are not statistically significant to make any trend analysis
right now," said Murphy. "I'd like to see an evaluation at the end of the
year."

Whatever bent is taken on the decline in city arrests, none of the experts
interviewed believed it showed that marijuana use was declining.

According to crime statistics compiled by the state Office of Justice
Assistance, arrests for the sale or possession of marijuana in Milwaukee
declined by 6% since the enactment of the decriminalization ordinance by
the Common Council last year.

>From May 1997 through April 1998, Milwaukee police made 2,210
marijuana-related arrests -- 1,651 adults and 559 juveniles -- a drop of
144 arrests from the same time period a year earlier when 1,785 adults and
569 juveniles were arrested.

In comparison, Milwaukee County suburban police made 1,385 arrests from May
1997 through April 1998, which was a 7.5% increase over the previous 12
months. From May 1996 through April 1997, 1,288 youth and adults were
arrested for sales and possession.

Robert MacCoun, a professor and researcher at the University of California
at Berkeley, said that growing suburban marijuana use was only "normal."
Yet declining arrests in Milwaukee do not mean that drug use has fallen.

"I wouldn't interpret a lightened penalty in your area as affecting a
change in marijuana use," MacCoun said. "My guess is that police are either
too busy with other things or that they just see it as less of a priority
now."

Bradley DeBraska, president of the Milwaukee Police Association, said that
he wasn't surprised by the dip in arrests.

"One of our concerns was that when the City of Milwaukee chose to
decriminalize the statute, that we would likely see some type of reduction
in the arrests," DeBraska explained. "This seems to be directly related to
the city's legislative effort."

But police Capt. Ray Susik of the vice control division disagreed. Susik
said the numbers aren't significant and do not accurately reflect the
intensity of the department's drug enforcement effort.

Other police officials in Milwaukee County say Milwaukee's decline in
marijuana arrests has more to do with the high number of serious emergency
calls in the city.

"(Milwaukee police) are extremely busy. Not that we aren't (busy), but we
just aren't taking as many calls as them," said Andre Antreassian, an Oak
Creek narcotics detective.

"I would say the suburbs are probably enforcing more traffic laws. Since
narcotics are obviously being transported in cars, we're probably just
coming across it more."

Glendale Police Chief Thomas Czarnyszka agreed. He attributed most of his
city's marijuana-related arrests to traffic stops and subsequent searches
of vehicles. Pot arrests also are made at hotels in the city, he said.

"We have a very active hotel interdiction program that is responsible for a
good many of these arrests," Czarnyszka said, "and that program has only
been in place a few years."

Milwaukee's decriminalization marijuana law, enacted in 1997, makes
possession of marijuana in amounts of 25 grams or less a city ordinance
violation rather than a crime. Penalties range from $200 to $1,000.

Most suburbs have had decriminalized pot laws for more than 10 years.

Larry Ganschow, a drug-addiction counselor at Aro Counseling Center in
Greenfield, offered his own explanation as to why marijuana-related drug
arrests have continually climbed in the suburbs.

"It's much easier today to produce homegrown marijuana, especially in the
suburbs. Everything is so wide open," he said.

Ganschow, a recovering addict himself -- clean for 14 years -- described
how suburban pot users have great access to farm fields and undeveloped
land on which to grow marijuana. He said the sprawling nature of the
suburbs gives drug users a lesser chance of encountering police, unless, of
course, they are transporting it by car.

Ganschow said marijuana, although relatively easy to find anywhere, is just
not a major inner-city issue anymore.

"My argument is that (marijuana) is just easier to get in the suburbs now,"
he said.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan