most people are commenting on the drug side of this and whether or not UPSET is a waste of money. I read the story twice and noticed weapons violations and parole violations. Obviously those people got caught once before and didn't learn. I'm glad USPET caught them and hopefully make them realize if you got caught and put on parole, you shouldn't be out doing the exact same things.

These bums will break into a grocery store for booze and cigaretts,just think if there was drugs in there.The last time I was waiting for my wife in Super One I counted up all the cigaretts and there was over $5o,ooo worth of those cancer sticks all in one pile. If I was a crook I would look into that as I believe they would all fit in the back of a pickup truck! As far as marijuana goes I bet you could grow enough to serve the state on the Marquette prison farmland that they have left go to weeds.

Nice to hear upset is getting some of the drugs and dealers off the streets of Baraga county. I wish they could stay in Baraga county for awhile and get rid of all the drugs and dealers.

I am not seeing anger there. I am seeing a point that is being missed. It is all mind altering and it is all harmful. There is no arguing that, so why are you bothering? If you come from a family of alchoholics, you should no that.

Why do we need an UPSET team? Why don't the cops already paid to deal with crime, do their job. We really don't need a "special" group of thugs breaking down our doors in the middle of the night, wearing masks and waving guns in our families faces. Raids like these are what our soldiers are trying to stop from happening in other places.

You are talking to a person who grew up as a child of an alcoholic who later became an addict and dealer and who is now dead from the life. Many of my family members and family friends were alcoholics as well who also later became addicts. I grew up first hand experiencing all the things you talk about. It started with alcohol, then marijuana and speed, and then acid,herione,opium, and finally crack and prescriptions. I am very familiar with both and believe me the heavier drugs are much worse. Seeing all i saw theres no way in h*** i will ever choose that life style and i warn my children all the time. Despite that my sibling and one of my children have chosen that lifestyle. Theres alot more out there than you or even i have experienced. Life can be much worse than you could ever imagine. Obviously UPSET is needed as drugs of any kind affect not only the users but family members, friends, neighbors, and the community as well wether you choose to do it or not. Get some therapy for your anger.

"My point is that with alcohol a person can choose to drink daily or just on the weekends but with crack it is different"

You're kidding right? Do you have any idea how many alcoholics there are out there that can not choose? That are powerless over alcohol? That have to take each and every day one at a time, each and every minute one at a time to get through the craves? How many people are unable to do it? Don't tell me about AA. That is a group that was designed by alcoholics/addicts for alcoholics/addicts and had absolutely nothing to do with the government/laws/society trying to control the problem. It was formed by people who were sick and tired of allowing the addiction to control them, and were tired of doing anything and everything that they had to do to get their next drink. Thank goodness the two men that started it did, it has helped many, many people. But the government didn't have squat to do with building it to the proportions it is at today.

If you truly think only a crack addict will steal for a fix then you are ignorant to the entire issue and point that I was trying to make. They are one in the same if you are an addict. Just because one is an illegal drug and the other is a legal liquid doesn't mean one is less destructive than the other. Just ask someone who has had their entire life ripped apart by someone they loved, that is an alcohol addict.

Do I actually think that talking to my kids will make them say no? Maybe not, but they will know of people in their family, their father being one, that completely ruined his life with alcohol and drugs. One that used to be an upstanding citizen that supported his family and is now a homeless man with liver failure. And with any luck, they will take a long hard look at that, and realize it is not worth it. I intend to tell them such horrifying stories of what it has done to those people's lives, they will be scared to death of it.

Again I say, thank goodness I am not that naive to the problem. Because the government says one is legal and the other isn't does not mean the harm is any different!!!

So if the drugs were legal, they would be free? Whether they are legal or not, they would still require money to obtain. So the stealing would continue.

And Bruno. I don't agree rehab and education is the complete answer, as opposed to jail time. But regardless. In order to get these people into rehab, they would still first have to be arrested. They are not going to just line up to be rehabbed on their own. Rehab programs already exist.
UPSET does not determine what happens to these people after they are arrested. That is up to the courts. So whether it is jail time, or rehab time, there would remain the need for UPSET.

if these drugs were not illegal the reason to rob money or steal a prescription would not exist

Ignorance? Upset does deal with alcohol. It is just not their main priority. While buying and drinking alcohol is not illegal for adults- domestic violence, drinking and driving, and other crimes resulting from alcohol abuse are illegal. There are many AA programs for the affects of alcohol abuse so obviously it is not forgotten about. If you read the court section in the newspaper you will see that people are always in court for DUI and resulting domestic violence and some even go to prison. Making it legal does not stop the resulting abuse. Naive is to assume that by my comment i was putting forth an opinion in any way about alcohol abuse. Naive is also believing that just because you have warned your children they will automatically just say no. Despite even first hand experience many children of addicts even become addicts themselves. Even children in grade school around here drink and do drugs including cocaine. My point is that with alcohol a person can choose to drink daily or just on the weekends but with crack it is different. Making it legal will not stop the problem. One taste and you can be hooked or even dead. A crackhead will do ANYTHING to get their next fix. They will let NOTHING stop them. Its not occassionally its a constant need. Its not about just the money. I have seen people do much worse things for crack than any alcoholic would ever think of. There is no nice addict in need of a fix. Drugs affect everyone from the unborn to the old, the rich to the poor, black,white,male,female... everyone. Even if you dont do it you can have some crackhead busting down your door for their next fix. When they do you people will whining about why it happened. Its stupid to say the program isnt working well enough so just get rid of it. Its naive to say make it legal and the problems will go away.Its not just about the money if i can get you hooked you will be my slave and i will be able to get you to do anything. Yeah sure i watch too much tv.

Not citing your statement as incorrect, however alcohol ruins more lives than we could ever count. Between the closet drinkers who get violent and beat their kids regularly (who, by the way are "upstanding" citizens to the public eye), the public drunks that are too busy sitting in the bar to care whether their kids get to school or not, and the ones that simply drink themselves right to death, not to mention the ones that kill the family of 4 on the roads too often to even think about. Yet, alcohol and its abuses seem to constantly be forgotten about. Why is that? If one thing can ruin a life and be legal, why not all of it? Uh huh, that's what I thought, no real answer to that one. Or better yet, why not make it all illegal? Oh, that's right, too much tax dollars wrapped up in it all. To think only the ones that are illegal ruin lives is just a naive way of thought.

While my children will know the dangers of drugs and where they will lead too (living on a street corner, etc.) they will also know the dangers of alcohol. They will grow up to be scared of BOTH, not just the illegal ones. After all, isn't that where is should all start, in the home?

It's my opinion that UPSET is doing a fine job.
Our law enforcement indiviudals are fighting a whole different drug war out there. Sure there is the usual crack, coke, heroin, marijuana, but now people are going after perscription drugs. Kids used to inhale paint, now their tieing things around their necks and cutting off the oxygen so they pass out. And this is a good feeling? Wow!
I say that any agency that has an impact on these drug problems is doing the right thing. Unfortunately making rehabs for people with drug/alcohol problems is not the answer either. Any 12 step program will tell you that you cannot force someone into recovery; it has to be their own will that makes them want to give up bad behavior.
We are here justifying how much drugs UPSET seizes in order to qualify for a good thing. It's like saying we dont need to send money to the border states of mexico because there are only 100,000 illegal's crossing the border everyday.
In my book any quantity of illegal drugs off the streets are a good thing!

Since the "war" on drugs isn't working, I think its time to legalize drugs. Prohibition didn't work with alcohol, and infact, increased crime due to all the Al Capones of the country.

The same is happening now with the drug "war".

Alcohol is legal, and arguably more dangerous than many drugs that are illegal, yet we're not all raging alcoholics....why?

Besides, it's MY body, not the governments. Shouldn't I be able to do what I want to MY body as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else? Or does the government own me?

And no, I'm not a drug user. I've never touched them, never will, even if they were legal.

It makes me smile to hear they are busting more losers in Baraga county. Just hope they came from Baraga Township. There is a Big Drug Problem in Baraga and if the Tribal police would actually do there job, the losers could be gone.

Drug problem??? Wait until you cut their funding and you all get a real drug problem, the type of problem where people start killing each other over. Its like weeding a garden, if you pull out a few weeds here and there and keep up with it, the garden looks good. Go on vacation for a few weeks, and the weeds have taken over. Good job UPSET, put those crack heads where they belong... in jail.

Education and rehabilitation is what those people need . Sending them off to criminal college (jail)sure won't fix anything .
There's been a "war on drugs" for over 40 years now and we are not winning . Things have actually gotten worse with cartels and gangs in the mix . Those things didn't even exist when they made pot illegal 80 years ago. Prohibition doesn't work .
It's time to decriminalize and take the financial incentive out of dealing drugs . Once that is done then law enforcement will be able to get get at the few remaining bad actors .

And yet somehow, alcohol, the most damaging and violence inspiring drug is everywhere you go. Propaganda goes a long way in shaping peoples perceptions of a situation.

What I want to know is what "drugs" and in what amounts are they being found? UPSET is amazing for waste. Nothing like the grand feeling you get when you spend just short of a quarter of a million dollars to bust someone with maybe $2000 worth of pot.

The only thing about "drugs" that destroy lives is the fact they are criminalized. The most dangerous drug is sold at the gas station. $236 BILLION of direct economic damage to our economy for an approximately $120 billion dollar industry.

Upset is a waste? Have you ever had someone break into your house to steal something to sell for drug money or to steal prescriptions? people on drugs are desperate for anyway to get their next fix. Drugs destroy lifes. It destroys families and neighborhoods.

good call. cut all funding to UPSET and put it towards the schools and roads. then the drug problem will get out of hand and more people will die off of overdose's, car accidents, and what else. but at least we'll have schools and roads.

good call. you should run for a government position!!

I understand the budget problems, but honestly feel that those who are against UPSET and the funds that it costs us do not fully understand the severity of the drug problem. I know first hand how horrible the drug problem is here. I never imagined that I would be fearful to have my children raised in such a drug infested community. I am grateful for the time and money spent to help protect my community and my children. As long as UPSET keeps doing their job and arresting more people, the fear of getting caught is bound scare a few individuals. They may think twice before selling their prescription drugs, crack cocaine or any other drug on the street. We need UPSET.

Finally Baraga County is getting some clean up! Drug abuse causes all kinds of problems for our community. If it is not controlled we will be known for the highest crime rate along with being the highest unemployment rate!

How could anyone think that a drug bust team is a waste of money? You people are idiotic! The UPSET team has been doing great keeping the crap and druggies off the streets! Lowest unemployment.......tell the people selling drugs to get off their butts and find jobs!

Good job UPSET, keep up the good work!!!!

You're closing schools for lack of funds. Your infrastructure is falling apart. People are dying for lack of health care. Yet you allow your politicians to throw money away on this type of nonsense. Funding UPSET is just the beginning. The bucks really start burning up when the lawyers get involved. We will all suffer for this moronic assignment of our priorities.

The county with the worst unemployment rate is being targeted. Talk about keeping people in poverty. Why not use this resources more wisely to help take preventive measures like using the funding to create jobs, and providing programs for the community as opposed to just making people criminals.

Just wanted to thank all involved for the job they've done and will continue to do in the future!! For every one you take off the street it's lowering the odds that my son or daughter will end up abusing. Keep up the good work!