DRUG UNITS HAVE BEEN BUSY BUT DON'T EXPECT FIGHT TO END SOON

Drug units in Washington and Ozaukee counties have had an active year,
pulling more than 1,100 plants and 48 pounds of marijuana off the streets
since Jan. 1.

Much of that has been in Washington County, where the Multi-Jurisdictional
Drug Enforcement Group has seized 46 pounds of marijuana since the
beginning of the year - up from 14 pounds in 2001.

Add to that the recent destruction of 810 plants - capable of producing up
to one pound of smokable product each - and it's tougher to get marijuana
in the area.

Ozaukee County's unit recently seized 350 plants from a Town of Fredonia
home after a growing operation was discovered. Authorities found plants in
the home and in a garden next to the home.

That unit also arrested a pair of brothers last month for selling marijuana
out of their parents' garage in the Town of Port Washington.

The increased activity may be putting a dent in the local drug trade, but
law enforcement officials don't expect the fight to end any time soon.

"We can slow it down, we can drive it out of place, but it will pop up
somewhere else," said Jeff Taylor with the Ozaukee County Anti-Drug Task
Force. "But you cannot really stop it altogether."

Lt. Bob Konstanz with the Washington County unit said good detective work
goes into finding a dealer or supplier. He also said that as long as there
is money in drugs, drug selling will continue.

"What you're seeing isn't going to change," he said. "With the profit
margin on drugs, a user can buy enough to make a profit and support his own
habit."

Until recently, bigger amounts of any drug were gotten in Milwaukee. Now,
larger quantities are available in the rural areas.

"We used to see an eighth of an ounce of cocaine; now we see an ounce,"
Konstanz said. "We are seeing bigger quantities more available on a regular
basis."

Konstanz said there are many theories on why that is, ranging from the
Canadian border being fairly easy to cross to the war on terrorism sapping
resources from drug interdiction programs.

The local units are working together closely to keep the pressure on drug
dealers.

An arrest in Cedarburg can lead to a major bust in Milwaukee or Washington
pretty easily.

"What we've found is that the drug problem has no boundaries," Taylor said.

The experience in both units has been the same on the influx of cocaine and
other drugs.

"A lot of the people we're talking to admit to getting drugs in Milwaukee
and using here," Konstanz said.

Taylor said the disturbing thing in Ozaukee County is the relative
youthfulness of drug users who are going to Milwaukee to make connections.

"They go into places that I wouldn't go into, and I carry a gun," he said.
"It's all about the money for them."

An undercover agent working for the Ozaukee unit said the other scary thing
for them is that kids in Ozaukee County like the drug dealer reputation.

"You have kids who can always get people dope and talk about getting other
things," he said, asking that his name not be used. "They're proud of it,
that people think they're a big-time dealer."

His observation is echoed by caseworkers for social service agencies
alarmed by an uptick in heroin use in the suburbs.

Taylor, with the Ozaukee unit, said the face of drugs users has changed in
the last couple of decades. When he was in high school about 20 years ago,
there were clear distinctions between so-called jocks and stoners.

Not any more.

"We see all kinds of kids, all different backgrounds, who are doing drugs,"
he said.

So, Taylor said, you fight it day to day. Close it down in one place and
then move on to the next.

"In the meantime, you know who is using, who is dealing, through your
informants," he said.