WILD MARIJUANA TO BE CUT DOWN SUNDAY IN DANE COUNTY

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Marijuana that grows wild in Dane County is to be cut
down Sunday.

Most of the marijuana is left over from hemp farming during the two World
Wars, Sgt. Mark Twombly of the Dane County Narcotics and Gang Task Force
said.

The effort is part of the Wisconsin Cannabis Enforcement and Suppression
Effort program.

Authorities already know where much of it is, based on flyovers in
state-owned aircraft, citizen complaints, routine patrol and "kids stopped
with dope in their cars, who tell us where they found it," Twombly said.

Eradicating wild marijuana is a good use of tax money and officer time, he
said, even though its potency is only 0.5 percent to 1 percent compared to
6.66 percent for high-quality, commercially grown marijuana.

"You can get a buzz off it. Even though it isn' t high-grade marijuana, it'
s available to kids and can get them hooked on it and they end up addicted
to other, harmful substances, said Twombly, county CEASE coordinator.

"It does present a significant problem. We have kids running out in people'
s fields, trespassing, to get to this stuff."

The best way to get rid of the wild weed is to yank it out by the roots,
Twombly said.

"But at this time of year it' s four to eight feet tall, so we' ll probably
chop it down and burn it," he said.

Copyright 1998 Associated Press.

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)