The Leader-Telegram
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Wisconsin Republicans plan to introduce two more bills this session, part of an anti-heroin package intended to attack an uptick in demand for the drug.
State Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, plans to propose a statewide pilot drug treatment program and an intensified voluntary probation program for convicted substance abusers in addition to four bills that already have bipartisan support in the state Legislature.
“I’d like to get the other two (bills introduced), and get it all done at once,” Nygren said Monday.
Introduced last month, four bills already in Legislative committees have the majority of the Senate and about one-third of the Assembly signed on as co-sponsors.
But Nygren said he wants the Legislature to hold off on voting on those bills until the remaining two can be added to the anti-heroin package, which he hopes will be discussed in January at public hearings throughout the state.
Among the Democratic co-sponsors of Nygren’s anti-heroin bills is Rep. Dana Wachs, D-Eau Claire. Drug problems that can result in the death of young people are nonpartisan issues, Wachs said.
“This is common-sense legislation,” he said.
The four bills already introduced would:
n Require pharmacists to demand photo IDs and record names of people who pick up narcotic prescription drugs.
n Give immunity from drug possession charges to people who seek medical assistance for a person suffering a drug overdose.
n Allow first responders and basic emergency medical technicians to administer the anti-overdose drug naloxone to patients.
n Permit drug disposal programs to accept narcotics.
Still in the works
Nygren still is working on a proposal for a state-approved drug treatment pilot program that would be available throughout Wisconsin.
There are privately run drug treatment clinics in the state, but Rep. Kathy Bernier, R-Lake Hallie, said those can be difficult to reach from rural parts of Wisconsin.
“The challenge is getting them there, and who has to pay for it,” she said.
Nygren didn’t identify where state funding would come from for a drug treatment program, but he said it would be within the state’s existing budget.
The other bill that’s still being crafted would be modeled after “swift and certain” programs in place in Washington and Hawaii. Participants are able to stay out of jail by agreeing to a parole that requires frequent drug testing and punishments for violating terms of their release.
“You’re giving up some of your due process rights, quite honestly,” Nygren said.
Absent from his anti-heroin agenda are any new laws targeting drug dealers or traffickers — Nygren said he feels that police already are doing what they can to curb the drug.
One of his biggest political fears, especially as a conservative Republican, he said, is that he’d be dubbed “soft on crime” for expanding treatment, not enforcement. But Nygren said so far he hasn’t faced criticism for his approach.
“With these drug issues, ‘lock ’em up and throw away the key’ is not working,” he said. “Let’s find something that works.”
Bernier said curbing demand for heroin should lead to less interest from dealers getting it into Wisconsin.
As part of the 2013-15 state budget, Republicans approved doubling state funding for local drug treatment courts, allowing more communities to create them, Bernier said.
Small-town experience
Nygren’s attack on heroin addiction was spurred by a family crisis and the revelation that the drug had reached a critical level in his district. His 24-year-old daughter, Cassie, survived a heroin overdose in August 2009 and currently is in Marinette County Jail.
Marinette County has the state’s highest per-capita drug overdose rate out of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, Nygren said.
Bernier, who said she’s had family members struggle with substance addiction, said heroin has found its way into relatively small communities and isn’t just a big-city problem.
Though heroin is not as evident in Eau Claire as it is in La Crosse, Marinette and larger Wisconsin cities, Kyle Roder, the Eau Claire Police Department’s community relations officer, said it still is a priority of the Police Department.
“When we see these high-intensity drugs, we want to see where they’re coming from and how they come into our community,” he said.
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