STATE: DRUG ARRESTS FIGURES REMAINED THE SAME LAST YEAR

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The number of drug arrests in Wisconsin stayed
about the same in 1997, after years of increases, a state agency said.

There were 21,527 drug arrests in the state last year, about 115 more
than the year before, the Office of Justice Assistance said in a
report released Friday.

That increase was far less than in previous years, which went up by
the thousands, the report said.

The number of drug arrests might have remained the same either because
the number of users went down or law enforcement might not have been
concentrating on drug violations as much, said Tom Everson, a
spokesman for the office.

"Maybe we reached a plateau," Everson said.

In 1995, there were 20,044 drug arrests, up from 16,815 in 1994,
according to the report.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady