(WFRV) – A sheriff’s office in western Wisconsin is concerned about the ‘dramatic’ increase in children in the possession of THC and vaping device.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office posted on its Facebook page about a ‘dramatic’ increase in children in possession of THC and vaping devices. The county has reportedly seen an increase in reports of children in elementary school, middle school and high school in possession of the items.

Authorities say that children as young as 8 years old were seen with the items. Law enforcement officers have also seen an increase in the number of calls for service to respond to homes with parents having difficulties with their children under the influence of THC or other drugs.

In the past month, the sheriff’s office says it has done multiple search warrants that resulted in the seizures of THC and THC smoking devices that are associated with deliveries to students at schools. An 18-year-old was arrested for allegedly supplying drugs to students.

Officials were ‘disturbed’ by the amount of negativity in response to that arrest.

We understand everyone has their own personal opinions on the use and laws of THC, however, we will not ignore illegal substances being delivered to children in our community.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Office

Additionally, two 15-year-old juveniles were referred to juvenile court on charges of possession with the intent to deliver THC. One of the 15-year-old juveniles was reportedly in possession of over a pound of marijuana.

The other juvenile was reportedly in possession of 53 THC-filled vape cartridges and 16 used THC vape cartridges. The following information was released about some recent drug-related investigations:

  • 40-year-old Gregory Coney was arrested for multiple offenses, including possession with intent to deliver more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.
  • 50-year-old Michael Peters was arrested for multiple offenses, including possession with intent to deliver more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.
  • 39-year-old Mathew Kennedy was arrested for multiple offenses, including delivery of methamphetamine (second or subsequent offense), possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, maintaining a drug trafficking place (second or subsequent offense) possession with intent to deliver THC (second or subsequent offense).
  • 38-year-old Sonya Ellenburg was arrested for maintaining a drug trafficking place, distributing methamphetamine and possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine.
  • 36-year-old Cory Birch was arrested for multiple charges including possession with intent to deliver THC (second or subsequent offense), possession of methamphetamine (repeater), possession of narcotic drugs (repeater) and possession of a firearm by a felon.

We take seriously all illegal drug use in our community. Our hope is that the youth of our community that have decided to start down the road of selling and using illegal drugs can be reformed so that the tragedies that we see related to illegal drug use will not continue into the next generation. This cannot be done without the community as a whole working together.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook

No additional information was provided. Local 5 will update this story if more details are released.