Wisconsin Adds more Weapons to Battle with Drunken Drivers

The Northwestern

Officer Mike Weinberger patrols the streets Wednesday night in the Town of Menasha. A new law imposing tougher consequences for drunken driving goes into effect Thursday. (Post-Crescent photo by Dan Powers)

 

 

It's a gamble taken all too frequently by Wisconsin residents: Getting behind the wheel of car while drunk.

To combat the problem, the state has raised the ante with the most ambitious package of drunken-driving reforms in decades. One of the primary aims of the law, which takes effect Thursday, is to persuade impaired motorists to stay off the roads.

But there is considerable debate about whether the target audience will get the message.

"Many people simply think that they won't get caught," Neenah Police Chief Kevin Wilkinson said. "Until we can intrude in the psychology of that, that portion won't change."Many police officials, lawmakers, researchers and safety advocates are taking a wait-and-see approach on whether the stiffer drinking-and-driving penalties will make a significant impact.

Even with the changes, Wisconsin's law is not among the nation's toughest.

Still, state Rep. Tom Nelson, D-Kaukauna, said, the law marks the first major upgrade in how Wisconsin treats drunken driving in 20 years. It incorporates ideas that were subject to debate for years before Gov. Jim Doyle signed the law in December.

In striving for meaningful reform, lawmakers worked to incorporate provisions on punishment, prevention and treatment, Nelson said.

"It's not just a criminal justice issue or a prevention issue," he said. "We chose to take a different approach: Let's bring everything to the table. Let's bring all these approaches into this law."
 

Bad habit

Meanwhile, police and experts say Wisconsin's alcohol-driven culture puts it in a uniquely difficult position when it comes to improving roadway safety.

Nina Emerson, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Resource Center on Impaired Driving, said drunken driving carries a certain degree of social acceptance in the Badger State.

A 2008 federal survey placed Wisconsin highest in the nation for driving while intoxicated. More than 26 percent of those questioned acknowledged having done so in the previous year.

Emerson said potential consequences don't often sway drunken drivers when the party winds down or the bartender makes the last call.

"They're not thinking, and they're definitely not thinking they're impaired," Emerson said. "Time after time, they'll say, 'I didn't think I was that bad.' They've also done it so many times without repercussions that it reinforces that behavior. That behavior becomes more entrenched."

Beginning Thursday, a fourth-offense drunken-driving conviction will be a felony if it occurs within five years of the previous offense. Currently, drunken drivers are treated as felons after a fifth conviction.

A first offense will be a misdemeanor if someone younger than 16 is in the car. Today, it's a traffic ticket.

Repeat offenders and first-timers with high blood-alcohol concentrations will have to get ignition interlocks on all vehicles they drive.

In addition, judges will have the power to place more drunken drivers on probation.

State Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, said he is confident Wisconsin drivers will take notice once they start encountering others who have been stung by the tougher penalties.

"It was a compromise and we've taken another step forward," said Kaufert, who owns a bar. "In some people's eyes we didn't go far enough, and in other people's eyes, we went too far. The bottom line is that we coalesced on something that could pass."
 

More felonies

History provides a sense of the new law's potential impact on prosecutors' caseloads.

Last year, Outagamie County registered 57 convictions for fourth-offense drunken driving and 26 convictions for fifth or subsequent offenses, which were felonies. Another 16 felony drunken-driving cases from 2009 remain open.

In Winnebago County, 73 drivers were convicted on a fourth offense and 44 were convicted for fifth or subsequent offenses. Six cases from 2009 cases remain open.

Bottom line: More felony cases would mean more time spent per case.

Felonies require a preliminary hearing, to determine if there is sufficient cause to send the case to trial, which misdemeanors don't carry. And defendants are more apt to fight a felony charge because they stand to lose more, including the potential of going to prison and the right to own firearms.

Despite possibly larger caseloads and related expenses, adopting the tougher threshold made sense particularly when comparing Wisconsin to other states, UW's Emerson said. In 21 states, a third offense is considered a felony. In Indiana and New York, drunken driving is a felony on the second offense if it occurs within five years of the previous conviction. Oklahoma considers a second offense a felony if it occurs within 10 years of a previous conviction.

Only seven states have laws weaker than Wisconsin's fourth-offense standard.

"I don't think it's by any stretch unreasonable," Emerson said of Wisconsin's new law.
 

Focus on treatment

Some police wonder whether any degree of punishment is enough to break the behavior of those who've reached or exceeded the felony threshold.

"I think punishment has very little to do with it, frankly," Outagamie County Sheriff Brad Gehring said. "At that stage, they've demonstrated they have incredibly strong addictions."

That's where another portion of the law shows promise, he said.

"Legislatively, I understand the need to get tough, but with more alcohol addiction treatment we're hoping to have more positive results."

The new law offers counties the option to use a treatment-based program now available only in Winnebago County. Outagamie County will open its version of the Safe Streets Treatment Options Program to drunken drivers arrested after the law takes effect.

The program is available to those charged with second and third offenses. Participants who complete the Wisconsin alcohol rehab program receive less jail time than they would have under traditional sentencing. They would be placed on probation with alcohol treatment and community service among the conditions.

Annie Levknecht, alternative treatment coordinator for Outagamie County, said the initial benefit of the program is urgency.

Offenders don't have time to consider whether they're ready or willing to undergo treatment because they have just three days to get an alcohol assessment.

Those who complete the program similar to alcoholics anonymous will have two-thirds of their sentence stayed.

"There's incentive," Levknecht said. "Another key benefit is they get to stay with their families."

Winnebago County Judge Scott Woldt, who instituted the program with Judge Barbara Key in 2006, said it has benefited taxpayers by saving on jail costs and it is giving offenders the tools they need to avoid further offenses.

Winnebago's program has produced 266 graduates. Of them, 26 have re-offended.

Woldt said measuring success goes beyond facts and figures.

"I get letters from time to time saying, 'I didn't want to get into it, my lawyer talked me into it, but it was the best thing I ever did,'" Woldt said. "I don't typically get letters from people I've sentenced to prison. People are turning their lives around."

Woldt said he's given about a half-dozen presentations on the program since it was included in the state's new drunken-driving law. In addition to Outagamie, Waukesha County plans to incorporate the program into its alcohol treatment court, he said.

"It's going to be a slow process, but it'll slowly build," Woldt said.

Counties that decline to use Safe Streets still have better opportunities to keep closer watch on offenders.

The new law will make probation an option for those convicted of second and third offenses. Currently, probation is only available to judges for four-time offenders.

Winnebago County Dist. Atty. Christian Gossett said allowing probation earlier in the process is a laudable step, because it's vital to reach drunken drivers early and address the behavior before it worsens.

However, Wisconsin's probation agents are already overburdened, and it's likely drunken drivers wouldn't get the attention that would make it worthwhile, Gossett said, due to any given agent's higher-priority clientele.

"Make it a meaningful probation," he said. "If you can't, it's feel-good legislation only."
 

Mandatory interlocks

If stricter penalties can't stop drunken drivers from repeat offenses, there's hope that technology will.

Judges now have the discretion to order use of ignition interlock devices for repeat offenders. Beginning Thursday, the devices will be mandatory for repeat drunken drivers and for first-timers arrested with a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 percent or higher. The state's legal limit is 0.08 percent.

The interlock devices require drivers to take a breath test before they can start their vehicles.

Kaufert was among the lead Assembly proponents for toughening the interlock requirement. He said it was crafted to better assure that those ordered to use the devices follow through.

"People are always going to try to find a way to circumvent it," he said, "but I think it's a pretty good law."

Currently, the clock starts when a judge orders a driver to have the device in place for a certain length of time. The offender can ignore the order and drive illegally until the time expires, then get a new license.

Under the new law, a driver won't be able to get a license without proof that the interlock was installed. The clock on an order won't start ticking until an offender applies for a license and officials see the paperwork.

Wisconsin's interlock provision places it in the top half of the country in terms of the strength of the law.

Judges in 12 states are required to order interlock use for any drunken driving offense. Wisconsin will join eight states that require the devices with a 0.15 percent blood-alcohol content. Another six states have mandatory interlocks only for repeat offenses.

New Mexico has had success with provisions to assure drivers follow through with the interlock orders, Kaufert said.

"The compliance is way up, and the recidivism has gone way down," he said.

Eminem: My Kids Help Keep Me Sober

Monsters and Critics

 

Eminem has credited his three daughters with helping him stay on top of his drug addiction treatment.

Asked what had helped him stay sober, he said: “My kids – I love them so much, and they’ve helped me through so many things.”

The 37-year-old performer has opened up about his drug battle, saying the title of his new album, Recovery, refers to his battle with drugs including 'Vicodin, Valium and Ambien, and toward the end, which caused my overdose, methadone'.

Eminem said: 'I didn’t know it was methadone. I used to get pills wherever I could. I was just taking anything that anybody was giving to me.”

The rapper discussed his decision to not go to rehab for a second time in a bid to kick his habit, telling the New York Times: “I detoxed in the hospital, and then I came home. I couldn’t go back to drug rehab. I felt like I was Bugs Bunny in rehab.”

Reflecting on his first stint in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility, the 8 Mile star said: “People at rehab were stealing my hats and pens and notebooks and asking for autographs. I couldn’t concentrate on my problem.”

The rapper also explained that he had no plans to tour because of the physical toll it would have on him, saying: “Touring is hard on the body. It used to be a big trigger for me with drinking and drugging.”

Eminem, whose lyrics have been labelled homophobic in the past, discussed whether he would like gay marriage to be approved in his home state, Michigan.

“I think if two people love each other, then what the hell? I think that everyone should have the chance to be equally miserable, if they want,” he commented.

“I think I’ve calmed down a bit. My overall look on things is a lot more mature than it used to be.

“It’s the new tolerant me!”

WHO to Tackle Binge Drinking

Reuters

Health ministers adopt global strategy at WHO meeting;  Recommend higher taxes and marketing regulations

 

 

Health ministers agreed on Thursday to try to curb binge drinking and other growing forms of excessive alcohol use through higher taxes on alcoholic drinks and tighter marketing regulations.

The global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol was adopted by consensus at the annual assembly of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Its 10 main policy recommendations, drawn up after two years of negotiation, are not binding but serve as guidance to WHO's 193 member states.

"Alcohol contributes to accidents, mental health problems, social problems and harms third parties," said Bernt Bull, a senior advisor in Norway's health ministry. Nordic countries, many of which already have tight restrictions on alcohol sales, spearheaded the initiative at the United Nations agency.

A relatively high excise tax on alcoholic beverages and regulations limiting their availability was helping to reduce alcohol-related diseases in Norway, he said.

The WHO estimates that risks linked to alcohol cause 2.5 million deaths a year from heart and liver disease, road accidents, suicides and various cancers -- 3.8 percent of all deaths. It is the third leading risk factor for premature deaths and disabilities worldwide.

"Alcohol is usually not perceived as a killer, though it is," Shekhar Saxena, director of WHO's department of mental health and substance abuse, told a news briefing.

Despite growing abuse and youth drinking at an earlier age in many countries, half of WHO members do not have a national alcohol policy, according to WHO expert Vladimir Poznyak.

"The biggest changes might happen in those countries which have no alcohol control institutions or regulatory framework for alcohol consumption," he told reporters.

SELF-REGULATION

The Global Alcohol Producers Group noted the strategy recognised the importance of self-regulation by industry in helping to address alcohol abuse.

Its members recognised "the harmful effects of irresponsible drinking patterns" and would continue efforts to promote self-regulation of advertising as well as curbs on drink driving and illegal underage and excessive drinking, a statement said.

Britain's Diageo (DGE.L), the world's largest alcoholic drinks group, and Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR), the world's largest brewer and maker of Budweiser, are among its members.

In a separate statement, brewing giant SABMiller (SAB.L) gave a cautious welcome to the plan, but warned:

"SABMiller is unconvinced there is sufficient evidence to support policy options such as minimum pricing and high excise taxes that may result in unintended, negative public health consequences which stem from the growth of the illicit alcohol market."

The WTO strategy document says the harmful use of alcohol has a serious effect on public health and is one of the main risk factors for poor health globally.

There is strong evidence that a low limit for blood alcohol concentration (0.02 to 0.05 percent) is effective in reducing drink-driving casualties, it says.

It underlined the importance of a legal framework for restricting the sale and serving of alcohol, a minimum age for buying drinks and "mandated health warnings" on alcohol labels.

Setting a minimum price per unit gram of alcohol has been shown to reduce consumption and alcohol-related harm, it said.

But overly tight restrictions on alcohol availability may promote the development of a parallel illicit market, it warned.

The Global Alcohol Policy Alliance -- a coalition of medical professionals, researchers and non-governmental organisations like Alcoholics Anonymous -- welcomed the WHO decision as historic and "long overdue".

"The strategy highlights the effectiveness of focusing on policies regarding pricing, availability and marketing of alcohol," it said in statement.

Once a Homeless Drug Addict, Man now Helps Others

Milwaukee Journal

For too many years, Daviene Smittie was lost in a haze of drugs, crime and homelessness.

"The drugs," he knows now that his mind is clear, "were doing me. I allowed drugs to take over my life."

Not anymore. The man with the last name that doubles perfectly as a nickname is now working as a substance abuse counselor himself. He has a home and a college degree and a valid driver's license. He has a wife.

At age 49, Smittie has his dignity back.

How did he do it? He points to several factors.

First of all, he was lucky to come from a functional family. Growing up in Pine Bluff, Ark., he was the youngest of eight children born to loving parents who took him to church and stressed the value of education and hard work. He finished high school and two years of college.

Second was a stinging statement spoken to him by a fellow inmate during one of the many times he went to jail, mostly for misdemeanor stuff such as drug paraphernalia, disorderly conduct and battery.

"This young man, I helped him with his case a lot. He said to me, 'Mr. Smittie, it seems like every time I hear you talk, you talk about drugs.' Right then and there, I didn't want drugs to be part of my life anymore."

That resolve was interrupted by a few more stumbles on the way. But then the third fortuitous thing happened. About six years ago, a raggedy and unshaven Smittie was walking down an east side street in Milwaukee when he met Jim Salinsky, who was working in his front yard.

"I said, 'Hey, what are you doing?' He said, 'I'm doing a flower bed.' I said, 'I need to make a few bucks. Would you mind a hand?' I really don't know what was in him to say, 'OK, c'mon,' " Smittie said.

Salinsky, 47, a global Webmaster at GE Healthcare, said Smittie told him he was homeless and needed money to rent a room.

"As I ran out of projects for him, I got to know him as a gentle and intelligent man. I learned about his drug abuse background and many run-ins with the law," he said.

Salinsky helped him get a job as a custodian at his synagogue, Congregation Sinai. But Smittie had one more setback in him. He was arrested for selling crack cocaine to an undercover police officer on the city's north side. Back to jail he went for six months.

He got out in 2006 and headed back to see Salinsky, who recalls, "Soon after he was released, we were sitting at my kitchen table, and he told me that he wanted to help others in his situation as an alcohol and drug abuse counselor. We researched what training he would need, what the different levels of certification were, etc."

During one of Smittie's own trips through drug rehab in Wisconsin, a counselor told him he needed to be in a job where he could help people. He learned about addiction the hard way, starting out drinking and smoking pot in his teens and moving on to crack cocaine.

He moved to Milwaukee in the early 1990s, and brought his bad habits with him.

"It cost me a lot. It cost me some good relationships. It cost me some jobs. It cost me some friction in the family," including a sister who lived in Milwaukee and sometimes had to use tough love and turn Smittie away from her home. He would stay at a homeless shelter or live on the street.

In 2006, Smittie met a woman, Sandy, through church. Both had just lost a sibling to illness. They were drawn together. They married in 2007, and they now live in West Allis.

Sandy Smittie doesn't drink and says she never tried street drugs. She's assistant manager of Chuck E. Cheese in West Allis, and she hopes to open her own bakery someday. She has watched her husband blossom, especially in his profession.

"He's very passionate about it, passionate with a capital P," she said. And if anything at work frustrates him, it's that he can't fix everybody right away.

In the early days of their relationship, he would want to drive through the old neighborhoods to remind himself how far he had come. But that urge passed. He's dedicated to his recovery. "He's clean for a day, that's his mantra," Sandy said.

Smittie has worked and trained at a variety of agencies. These days he does counseling and assessment at M&S Clinical Services, ironically one of the places he came to for help for his own crack addiction treatment. Now, he has an office there. He's careful about mentioning his past to clients; sometimes it raises his street cred, but it also can cut into the respect he gets.

After three years of weekend classes, he just earned a bachelor's degree from Springfield College School of Human Services, which has a campus in downtown Milwaukee.

Smittie is licensed by the state as a Wisconsin substance abuse treatment counselor in training, and he's studying for the next level of certification. He's thinking about shooting for a master's degree.

Salinsky, or Dr. J as Smittie calls him, is proud of what his friend has accomplished.

"The easiest thing in the world," Salinsky said, "is to write a check and imagine that you're making a difference in someone's life. The more challenging thing is to get involved, get informed and learn what might motivate that person to help himself."

For too long, Smittie had nothing to show for his life, he said. But he's modest about his success.

"People do this every day, man. I'm not doing anything spectacular. I'm just doing what I need to move on with my life."

Hank Haney tells Golf Channel that Tiger Woods is a Sex Addict

USA Today

Tiger Woods has admitted to being in therapy — but not to sex addiction. On Sunday, Woods' ex-swing coach Hank Haney told Golf Channel's Jim Gray the world's No. 1 golfer is a sex addict.

Woods never confirmed receiving treatment at a sex-addiction clinic in Mississippi. When Gray asks Haney point-blank what Woods is in therapy for, the golf teacher candidly said: "Well, the only thing that I knew about was his, you know, issue with the sex addiction."

But Haney, who stepped down as Woods' coach last Monday, said rumors Woods used performance-enhancing drugs are "100% false."

"People that say otherwise are just starting rumors," said Haney. "It's based on no facts at all. There's a lot of jealousy."

Woods' blood-spinning treatments with Canadian doctor Anthony Galea were also above board, he added.

Gray told USA TODAY: "I think what the public is interested in knowing is whether or not Tiger was in there for prescription drugs, or other drugs, or alcohol, or was it sex addiction because so many questions have been left unanswered. … Tiger says it's all in the police report. But clearly it's not."

Woods withdrew from the Players Championship because of a neck injury. Haney said Woods would be "better off if he was just was a little more forthcoming" about his injuries.

As for Woods blocking tee shots to the right, Haney said his former pupil "has a fear of hitting shots to the left and, as a result, he misses a lot of shots to the right."

Gray said he's "never seen anything like" Woods' swift fall from grace. "We were watching Picasso paint. It's just very sad. Nobody was against Tiger Woods. He had no enemies. He's become his own. The only enemy has been himself. … You can only hope he can go about his life and regain his stature."

Robert Munsch Admits to Depression, Cocaine and Alcohol Abuse

Winnipeg Free Press

TORONTO - For more than 30 years, Robert Munsch has fascinated young readers with his unique stories that have made his books staples of any child's library.

But it is his latest story, one of admission to cocaine and alcohol addictions, that has become the most shocking and captivating one, a story not intended for his young "Munschkin" fans.

In a message titled "Note to Parents" posted on his website, the bestselling author admits he's been diagnosed as obsessive-compulsive and manic-depressive and has been through Alcoholics Anonymous type programs.

"Those challenges have led me to make some big mistakes," Munch says, without providing further details.

But in an interview with Global Television aired Saturday, Munsch admitted he is recovering from cocaine addiction treatment and alcoholism, adding he has been clean for about four months.

In his note to parents, Munsch, 64, wrote that his mental health and addiction problems are not a secret to his friends and family.

"They have been a big support to me over the years, and I would not have been able to do this without their love and understanding."

He goes on to say that he hopes that others will also understand and that "everyone will talk to their kids honestly, listen to them, and help them do their best with their own challenges."

In August 2008, Munsch suffered a stroke that briefly affected his ability to speak in normal sentences, a big challenge for a man who used to do about 50 storytelling gigs a year.

In an interview with The Canadian Press four months after the stroke, Munsch said he was unable to create new stories.

"I try to do poetry and make up stories and it doesn't work, and (the doctors) told me that I should probably wait for a year for that to come back,'' he said at the time.

Munsch also said that he planned to edit the whopping 51 book drafts he had on the go before his stroke.

Born in Pittsburgh, Penn., Munsch studied to be a Jesuit priest before he decided to work in preschools, where he got his start as a storyteller.

He moved to Canada in 1975 and four years later wrote his first book titled "Mud Puddle''. He's since written more than 50 books, including some best-known titles like "Love You Forever'' and "The Paper Bag Princess.''

His latest books are "Down the Drain" and "Roar" published in 2009.

He has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.

Munsch was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1999 and was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame last September.

Exposure to Drinking in Film, Television Linked to Early Drinking by Children

The Vancouver Sun

Children who watch R-rated movies are more likely to start drinking early on, results of a new study suggest.

 

 

The study, from Dartmouth Medical School in New Hampshire, surveyed nearly 3,600 middle school-aged children. The researchers found that of children whose parents never allowed them to watch R-rated movies, only three per cent had started drinking when questioned a couple of years after the initial survey. For children whose parents "sometimes" let them see R-rated films, 19 per cent had started drinking. For children who were allowed to watch R-rated films "all the time," 25 per cent had started drinking.

The study's findings, to be published in the May issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, stress the need for parents to monitor their child's media exposure, said James Sargent, principal investigator of the study and professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School.

Sargent said there are two effects of watching R-rated movies that leads to children drinking alcohol earlier in life.

"Part of it is monkey see, monkey do," he said. "Kids see actors smoking and drinking on screen and think, 'Oh, I'd like to do that.'"

At the same time, risky behaviours portrayed in R-rated movies, such as crime, violence and sexuality, tend to "go together," he said.

Once kids start one risky behaviour, such as smoking or sex, they're likely to start another, drinking for example, Sargent explained.

This can be damaging to their health, as early-onset alcohol use is associated with alcoholism later on in life, Sargent said.

Middle-school aged children are also likely to binge drink in high school, leading to such problems as "school failure, trouble with the law, and drinking and driving," he explained.

Keeping in mind that some parents who restrict access to R-rated movies could simply be more careful and more likely to ensure kids don't have access to alcohol in the home, the researchers also asked the children questions to gauge their parents' parenting style. However, even with these factors considered, exposure to R-rated movies was still linked to the likelihood of early-onset alcohol use.

Most worrying, Sargent said, some "authoritative parents still let their kids watch anything."

Monitoring a child's media consumption is as important in parenting as "paying attention to what your kids eat and making sure they do their homework," he said.

While the message to parents in the past was "don't let your kids watch too much TV, the big message (in this study) is that you can also influence your child's behaviour by controlling content," said Sargent.

For Canadian parents, Sargent recommends they take movie ratings "very seriously and literally."

"If a movie is rated for adults, kids have no business watching them," he said.

Sargent pointed out that many PG-13 movies and TV shows also portray drinking and other adult situations. Therefore, he urged parents to not only restrict their kids from seeing R-rated films, but also to limit time spent watching television overall.

The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends parents limit children's daily TV watching to one or two hours a day.