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SAUK COUNTY A LEADER IN DRUG FIGHT WISCONSIN'S TOP COP MEETS WITH LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

Wisconsin Dells Events - 7/27/2017

Wisconsin's attorney general says Sauk County is a leader in law enforcement's battle with a drug epidemic.

Attorney General Brad Schimel visited with local law enforcement and government officials Friday in Baraboo. Many expressed concern about the spread of opioids.

In Sauk County, one out of every 140 residents needs opiate treatment. It's one of only 255 U.S. counties that reported more than 10 opioid poisoning deaths per 100,000 people from 2009-2013.

Schimel said Sauk County's proactive efforts to treat people addicted to heroin and prescription pills like oxycodone are a model. Programs in Baraboo and the Sauk Prairie area offer medication and counseling to treat addicts. Meanwhile, the county's Criminal Justice Coordinating Council is working to identify evidence-based strategies to address the root causes of crime and prevent recidivism. The approach follows a gradual nationwide shift toward treatment over incarceration for nonviolent offenders.

"Sauk County is very far ahead of the curve," Schimel said. "They have a really healthy network."

In roughly a year of operation, Tellurian counselors contracted by the county have treated 160 addicts in Baraboo, surpassing the program's goal of 130. The program boasts a retention rate of 59 percent.

A key challenge in the fight against drug addiction and the crime it creates, Schimel said, is a shortage of mental health care providers and dependency counselors. America needs to support funding for treatment of addiction as it would any other illness. "These are diseases that cause great human suffering, and we should cover them," he said. "We need to treat these mental health issues the way we treat cancer."

Schimel said the state needs to take a proactive, preventive approach to the drug problem. Even well-coordinated programs like those operating in Sauk County are expensive, as addicts need medical care, mental health treatment, housing and job placement services. "There's so much to clean up, and it's costing us a fortune," he said. "We're still trying to find the most effective means of prevention."

The public has grown more aware of the addictive nature of prescription painkillers, and doctors and drug stores have become more vigilant about controlling access. "We're seeing positive results coming," Schimel said. "We're moving in the right direction."

The trouble is that some addicts previously hooked on opioids have switched to methamphetamine, which though highly addictive, isn't as likely to produce fatal overdoses. Schimel compared law enforcement's anti-drug efforts to squeezing a water balloon: Clench one end, and the water rushes to the other.

"Sauk County is one of those counties that's been having to deal with both," he said.

What meth users may not realize is that the drug causes brain damage. "It's going to kill them," Schimel said, "it's just going to take longer."