SHOOTING DEATHS FOCUS ATTENTION ON DRUG PROBLEMS IN THE REGION

MONROE -- Marijuana is still the drug of choice in Green and
Lafayette counties, according to local authorities.

Green County Sheriff Randy Roderick describes marijuana as a
"gateway" drug: People who move on to harder drugs, such as cocaine,
often start with marijuana.

Roderick points to a government report issued March 14, that says
"research shows that regular or heavy marijuana use was associated
with using a wider variety of other illicit drugs and with abuse or
dependence on other illicit drugs.

"Far from being a 'benign' substance, marijuana is a dangerous,
addictive drug that is frequently the first step of life-long drug
addiction."

Green and Lafayette counties' drug problems are neither better nor
worse than those occurring throughout the rest of the state and
nation, authorities say.

"I think society as a whole has a problem with drugs," State Line
Area Narcotics Team (SLANT) Master Sgt. Harry Wellbank said. SLANT
includes both Green and Lafayette sheriff's departments as well as
law enforcement agencies from the Rock County sheriffs' department,
the Monroe, Janesville and Beloit police departments, the Illinois
State Police, the Boone County, Ill., sheriff's department and the
Freeport and Loves Park, Ill., police departments.

But the local drug scene has raised concerns in the wake of a double
homicide and suicide in Lafayette County earlier this month.

During an investigation into the shooting of three people March 16,
police found $450,000 worth of drugs at the rural residence located
between Argyle and Blanchardville where the deaths occurred. As a
result of that investigation, on March 17, SLANT agents found 11
marijuana plants growing in a crawl space in the Paul A. Olsen Sr.
and Carol A. Olsen residence near Belleville. They also found 1,110
grams of marijuana dried and stored in bags in a bedroom and attic
crawl space and 670 grams of marijuana which was drying in a
basement crawl space at the Olsen home. The Olsens face more than 19
years in prison and more than $45,000 in fines, if convicted. They
remain free on $5,000 signature bonds.

Green County Chief Deputy Jeff Skatrud said there was little
suspicion about either group growing marijuana before the shooting
investigation. That's common, he said.

"People growing marijuana in their houses are usually decent
neighbors who you'd never suspect. They aren't controversial. They
don't want to bring suspicion to themselves," Skatrud said.

Wellbank said people involved in drugs tend to live in the same
location for a number of years because they've invested a lot of time
and effort into making their homes undetectable.

"It's inconvenient to move around too often," he said. "They have a
lot of time involved. Often times they have fake walls within their
houses to conceal their growing operation."

But when neighbors or law enforcement do get an idea something is
going on a drug raid can result in a large amount of drugs being seized.

Wellbank said it is debatable whether drugs are more prevalent now
than in the past, or if law enforcement is just more effective at
combating the problem.

Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley said there has been a greater
emphasis on making arrests and that may make it appear more people
are using and selling drugs.

Skatrud said in 2005 drug arrests actually went down from 20 to 16,
although the amount of drugs seized increased.

"There were 190 pounds of marijuana seized in 2005," he said. And, he
said, the drugs seized are more potent than they were 25 or 30 years
ago.

"Marijuana today is probably 1,000 times more potent than it was in
the 1970s," Wellbank said. "People used to smoke the leaves. Now they
use the buds on the plants to make a stronger form. And marijuana is
more expensive than it used to be. And when it becomes more
expensive people tend to try to protect it more."

Another reason marijuana is stronger now than it used to be is that
it is homegrown -- people who make marijuana are more careful to
cultivate it and protect it to get a stronger product to sell.

Along with a more potent form of marijuana, another challenge in the
drug war is society's mobility.

"Monroe is a way post on along the pipeline," Kelley said. "The
source cities are elsewhere."

Source cities include Madison, Rockford, Beloit and Freeport, the law
officers said. Because of close proximity to those cities drugs come
through both counties.

Probably the most challenging aspect in the area's efforts to combat
drugs is the lack of federal money to SLANT in 2006. In 2000 SLANT
received about $100,000 from the federal government. In 2006 the
agency will not receive any money from the federal government.

Advertising campaigns linked terrorism to drugs following the attacks
on Sept. 11, 2001, but money to fight drugs is being used for other
things, Skatrud said.

"The war in Iraq and the hurricane are drying up our resources," he
said.

"Local law enforcement agencies are expected to do more with less,"
Roderick added.

Money to combat drug use will have to come from local law enforcement
budgets.

"The SLANT agents are trying to save money where they can," Wellbank
said. "They're trying to forge ahead. Many of them are juggling their
schedules and working without getting overtime pay."

Kelley said drug education is a good way to help prevent drug use,
but noted that is a slow process.

"We have to somehow change the way people think of drugs -- all drugs
- -- and that even includes alcohol," he said.