Republican Attorney General Candidate Unveils Plan For Addressing Heroin Epidemic

All four of the candidates running for state attorney general say ending the heroin epidemic is the top criminal justice priority in the state, but the lone Republican candidate says he’s the only one with a comprehensive plan to address the problem.

Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel rolled out his plan Monday. It calls for establishing a coalition of attorney generals from all of Wisconsin’s neighboring states to share law enforcement data and training techniques for prosecuting heroin dealers, helping addicts kick the habit, and educating the public about how to prevent more people from becoming addicted.

Schimel says his top priority is to crack down on dealers, whether they’re selling just to feed their habit or are selling it for a profit.

“If you are selling heroin to other people to support your habit, you know what you are doing to other people,” he said. “And I believe that the answer from law enforcement has to be that we have to come after you. If you are distributing heroin to other people for any reason whatsoever, then the end result is going to be prison.”

At a candidate forum over the weekend, the three Democrats in the race all emphasized different approaches to combating heroin. Jefferson County DA Susan Happ highlighted the need for education about the dangers of addiction and creating more treatment resources for addicts. Dane County DA Ismael Ozanne pointed to a risk assessment tool he’s developing to help drug courts decide which addicts to lock up and which to offer more treatment resources. State Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee) said he’d push to increase funding for the state crime lab so investigators can close more heroin trafficking cases.