correct, thekid...freedom of choice would be nice!

to hemp or not to hemp, that is the question...

shutupandfish most of us just want it legal so we dont EVER have to risk arrest. we are more than happy to smoke in the comfort of our own home.

I wonder if the legalize marijuana crowd would allow the joints to be smoked in bars and restaurants?

What's all the fuss about Jack's Johnson?

Jack Johnson was a black boxer who beat the hell out of a bunch of white guys back around 1900.

actually what i think you mean miss_sassy is Ahhh, the freedom of choice WOULD BE a wonderful thing...

and officerfriendly1, not to accuse any law enforcement agent of committing a crime, but I wonder how many officers accept bribes from people who would otherwise be ticketed or arrested for marijuana, to "look the other way"...

and non-users have the choice not to be around marijuana or users of marijuana. I have many many friends and family on BOTH sides of the issue. Guess what: if a person doesn't want to use marijuana or be around it, they don't HAVE to!

Ahhh, the freedom of choice is a wonderful thing...

Legalize marijuana!

"Everyone has to choose their own lifestyle." Absolutely upnorthwi. People should have the freedom to use or not use marijuana. Users should not have to fear being arrested and going to jail for using a substance that is far less harmful than alcohol.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I just know how awful it was for my children and me. I hate to see families ripped apart by addiction, that's all. Everyone has to choose their own lifestyle. Good night:)

LEGALIZE IT TAX IT AND LET THE ONES WHO TOKE ENJOY>

i was at the concert and first off Jack Johnson put on a great show...secondly why is it only the negitive stuff reported?Jack Johnson donated a percentage of the procedes to the flood victims of southern wi and the gazette reports on the 50 marijuana arrests...and an act of kindness like that goes unreported....instead of reading about death,drugs,layoffs,and other tragic events mabey you guys could try every once in awhile to put a little light in the world....in todays world i think a little good news goes a long way!!!!!!

good post krowjin, more people need to talk about this stuff in REAL life so the ignorant and uninformed understand.

upnorthwi if you lived with the prob and you didnt have the prob, you KNOW first hand that its ALL on the individual. i was arrested about 12 times for various drinking offenses. dont act like i dont know about addiction. i do. am i addicted to pot?? perhaps but thats a whole nother debate;) plus addiction to me means negative ramifications, and in the almost 3 years since ive been on my pot ONLY(no alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, aspirin or pres meds) lifestyle, i have not had ONE SINGLE NEGATIVE EFFECT. not one. in fact im in the best physical, mental and financial shape i have EVER been in. as for me being an A++ father. i know. my kids know. if you cant believe that it appears as though your 'reality may be clearly defined, by the fences put up around your mind'(brett dennen;)

I've "got a life" therefore I don't find it a need to use. It comforts me to know that all the smart people out there are potheads. Maybe that's why the world is in the state it is!!!

Since pot has such bad side effects, explain this. I started experimenting with marijuana in 6th grade. I've habitually used it since 8th grade and i graduated DDHS as valedictorian of my class. I have one year left before receiving my bachelor degree in nuclear engineering. Yep i guess i must agree, pot does make you stupid. Get a life and go drink another beer.

the kid..I know first hand how alcohol affects the family etc. because I WAS married to a terrible alcoholic, pot smoker for 13 years and said enough was enough. Yes, I think a lot of it depends on the person if pot leads to other things, but I don't think an A++ father uses drugs. I grew up in a Christian home where my folks didn't have to use mind altering substances to have a good time or relax. I enjoy an occassional drink but my husband and I don't find it something we need to do to "take the edge off". Once you've been with an addict your whole opinion on drugs and alcohol change.

according to officerfriendly, then it's agreed that the arrests truly have nothing to do with preventing the "harmful" effects of marijuana for the safety of the citizens and everything to do with creating revenue for further nonsensical arrests such as these? If thats the case, can someone please inform the telemarketers trying to sell me trashbags to stop calling?

Officerfriendly, I don't want to be a sheeple so tell me, what do you do with your taxes? Buy an IRA, bank them or do you put them in an escrow account?

ms_sassy_wi asked, "when are they going to realize it is such a waste of resources!" When it stops generating revenue that's when. Not just for the departments but for the officers as well. I wonder how many of the officers working Alpine Valley were on overtime? Of those officers, how many are within three years of retirement and padding their state retirement benefits by working every possible overtime opportunity available? Ask yourself this, why do departments issue a press release on incidents like this? They want citizens and elected board members to read this stuff so come next years budget they can ask for more money in their budget to fight the big bad marijuana "drug war". Keep paying your taxes sheeple! Check out LEAP(Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) at http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php for more information.

Actually, the percentage is less than 0.002% of the attendees that were arrested. I agree with mssassy, thekid, and the others that advocate the legalization of mj, and I don't even use it.

NEWS FLASH:

The Walworth County SD targets drug enforcement at concerts held in Alpine Valley.

(for those of you who have been living under a rock for the past several years)

Kids skip, flunk out and don't study??? Huh I find that funny. Since pot is what helped me study and pass high school! It calmed me so I could concentrate on what I was doing. No I do not use any longer because I have a child. But I will say if it was legal I would still use. Not in the presence of my child, but I would use. Pot affects everyone differently. Some people can function on it and others can't. Same as alochol. People need to just mind their own business. If someone gets caught it's their fault and they deserve whatever they get. And most of the time they are the ones using it and can't control themselves on it. Yes, pot can lead to other things but it is only because that person wants a better high. It's not the drug itself. I smoked for 5 years and NEVER once did anything harded. It's all a mind game. If you can control it then you have won, if not then you have to fight harder to win.

dub190, excellent question. I'm betting they were drunk on alcohol. Did eight pot smokers get locked up in jail? If so what about the battery, disorderly conduct and criminal damage suspects? Was anyone locked up for underage alcohol? Common Gazette write a better article.

WHO IS JACK JOHNSON?????

Alpine Valley's capacity is more like 50,000, and I've been to concerts (in another decade) where it was close to that. It does seem like the neighbors/taxpayers want the sheriff to keep a close eye on things so that when there might be a rowdier crowd there is a deterrent effect.
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But Jack Johnson? Gimme a break! The man performed the soundtrack for the Curious George movie, for Pete's sake. The man is an acoustic soft-rock "gateway musician" ... before you know it you'll be onto the harder stuff like John Mayer, Dave Matthews, or (God help us) Bright Eyes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Johnso...)
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This video is at least interesting to watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrZwGGKGk...
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You know, I think I've figured it out. If my girlfriend dragged me to a Jack Johnson concert, I'd *require* pot to get through it. That's the explanation here....

upnorth ill agree that to many peeps bring up gm on these things. we all chose our paths and hatin on people for bein overpaid is not logic, its jealousy. as for your version of marijuana. as well noted in other threads here, i smoke on a more than regular basis. i am not stupid. nor are any of the other smokers that post on here. my ex wife will tell you im an A++ father. kids dont study, skip class, and flunk out for all kinds of reasons, but you cant group them all togethor and say its cuz of the pot. marijuana is most definitely a mind altering drug with possible negative effects, but its ALL on how the individual handles it. ask yourself upnorthwi, how many terrible effects does alcohol have on children, families, and marriages?? google 'alcohol deaths' and then google 'marijuana deaths'. yet that poison is legal when you are 21 regardless of your ability to drink 'responsibly'....

About pot.. it does lead to other things. I know first hand the terrible effects it has on children, families, and marriages. Pot makes you act stupid and I a parent CANNOT properly care for their child while under the influence. Kids don't study, skip class, flunk out...no bad side affects huh? You people who think this recreational past time has no long term effects are just fooling yourselves.

I can't believe that in almost every blog some dope has to bring up GM!! Why can't you people just have compassion for the people that are losing thier jobs? I, personally, think that you're jealous of the wages they earn. My dad retired from GM 13 years ago. At one time he used to say he had a gravy job and felt kind of guilty about his pay. Then when they re-tooled he said his job became difficult and hard on his body. Those guys make what they make because of the product sold. Do you complain about the wages Chrysler pays??? They make a pretty penny also and I haven't heard 1 thing about that. GET OVER IT!!!

Why is this even reported as news on the Gazette website? The city I live in has all sorts of concerts that are known for their fans smoking pot. Jimmy Buffett is one for example. I guess our paper has real news to report and just ignores crap like this.

I think it is just an issue with Alpine Valley. Whenever I hear "Alpine Valley" in a sentence it is always included with "arrests".

Free Tibet!!!

Good to see our finest in fearless action protecting us from those loony pot smoking terrorists. I have become resigned to the sad fact that this country (and small town Wisconsin) will never grow up in my lifetime.

Once again, GM makes the blogs, even when it ISN'T the storyline!

And who cares how many people were at Alpine Valley? The article basically states that a very small percentage of the concert goers were arrested.

Mark707 - 31,000 doesn't sound outlandish to me. I've been to concerts at Alpine Valley with ~40,000 in attendance there so it does have the capacity.

its too bad. I used to bring dope to concerts there back in the day, and I never hurt anyone. I managed to grow up and make twice as much as the pompous GM workers using my brain.

and jasonTH. if you wanna save everyone that rant its kewl, but if you wanna type it out anywho, id LOVE to hear it. i most def gots the time....

tater should we talk about the number of people who were legal to drink at this concert and drove home?? i will take a stoned driver/co-worker/friend/spouse/youfreakinnameit over a drunk driver/co-worker/friend/spouse/youfreakinanemit ABSOLUTELY ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.

So if only a small percentage of those people were "legal" to be stoned and drove home, how safe would our roads be?

I'll ask the question again. Were there really 31 THOUSAND people at Alpine Valley?

Aside from the damage your body sustains from smoking (and marijuana does not have to be smoked), there are no negative long term effects from using marijuana.

Oh my! 7 cases of crimes with victims. I wonder if those people were stoned or drunk?

i agree. make weed legal and take the money spent on policing marijuana and use it to shore up our border

Ms Sassy, I could argue for pages why the drug is still illegal, but I'll save everyone the rant.

I'll just say that because people aren't killing for it, doesn't mean it doesn't have some really bad long term consequences.

and again...why the uproar about marijuana. people aren't robbing or killing to get it, like with heroin and cocaine. legalize it already and allow law enforcement to go after the REAL criminals...geez.

when are they going to realize it is such a waste of resources!

It apparently is a very slow news day. When the figure gets into the four digits, then it's newsworthy, otherwise they should report on more important issues such as the flooding and what people can do to help.

First: Jack WHO???
Second: 31 THOUSAND people? At Alpine Valley?

If that number is correct, then 47 people arrested for posession is a very small percentage, as are the number of other violations. I guess the law enforcement folks are doing a good job. But the Gazette's screaming headline: "Nearly 50 drug citations"
seems a bit alarmist doesn't it?

All those potheads and yet no accidents, no deaths, and no overdoses. Sounds harmful. And yes plenty of pot is smoked at christian shows, I've seen it.

shocking... lol I like Jack Johnson, he's not a bad artist. I am not shocked about the drug citations though... but you probably get that at most adult and young adult concerts... other than most of the christian concerts...