A WAR ON AMERICAS FAMILIES
On February 5, 1982, I started the first page in the book of my life. I am Jacob J. Sieg, a God-fearing father of six amazing and brilliant children, five boys, one sweet girl, and a husband to my amazing wife.
On December 8, 1998, at the age of 16 I broke into a bar and several cabins with a group of my friends. June 3, 1999, at the age of 17 I was charged with those crimes and sentenced to 4 months in county jail and 5 years probation. I successfully completed probation exactly 5 years later without ever committing an offence or having a negative comment put into my file. I had completely closed the chapter of “Trouble Maker” in my book.
On August 12, 2000, I married the woman of my dreams, Lisa M. Spitzenberger and started my family. Not long into our marriage, our family was multiplying quickly, and we were preparing to start a new chapter in our life. I was living “The American Dream” so to speak. We were buying a growing business, the family was healthy, and we were preparing to purchase a small hobby farm for our massive gaggle of children we seemed to be accumulating.
On September 5, 2004, I started a new chapter in our book, “A Race To Rock Bottom” would fit good for a chapter title I guess for this painful adventure.
While trying to push a trailer hitch onto a truck, the hitch slipped and compressed my spine in several locations. After almost a year of trying to continue to run what had become a very large landscape, irrigation and garden center from my bed for the most part, we were forced to sell off or file bankruptcy on all portions of the business.
As we tried to find a viable option to repair the collapsed disc spaces and herniated discs, I began to spiral into a pit of legitimately prescribed pharmaceuticals. My medicine cabinet read like the inventory list from a pharmacy. My children were scared I was dying, and the medications had turned me almost completely non-functional. I spent most of my days either comatose on the bed, or screaming in pain. When they reached the point that they could no longer increase or add medications to control the pain an amazing neuro-surgeon agreed to try a very new and risky operation.
On July 16, 2007, I began “Climbing Out”. The surgery was perfect, and I came out of recovery with full feeling again and a dramatic decrease in pain. Within the second week of recovery, I requested a referral to a doctor that specialized in drug dependency; I wanted my mind and my family back. I wanted off all pharmaceuticals as fast and as safely possible. I could see the top of the hole, and the sun was shining. The weather was perfect to start rebuilding my family’s life. I was smiling for the first time in 3 years.
On July 3, 2008, my brother came home from his first tour in Iraq. During a welcome home party, some of the guys decided to shoot at some targets. The police were called due to the loud noises, and I was charged with felon in possession of a firearm I was sentenced to a week in huber for that crime. This is the only crime I have committed in my adult life.
On December 17, 2008, we were two months away from adding the final kid to our clan. Lisa went into pre-term labor, so I rushed her to the hospital, and she was sent directly to the maternity ward. As they were beginning to administer her a medication to stop the labor, the next great escapade in our adventure began “ Ol Sparky” fits that one well.
I had my first seizure moments after getting my wife on the hospital bed. I was rushed into ICU and remained their semi incoherent for three days. My last memory of that day was leaving my home to take my wife to the hospital, and my first memory after that is three weeks after taking her to the hospital. Almost 20 months later, after trying dozens of anti seizure drugs, most of which caused an increase in seizure activity, and seeing half as many specialists, they came up with a trial medication. Three days later a deadly reaction to the medication started and I was hospitalized. Their next recommendation to me was to undergo testing at over 100 sites in my brain. In order to do that, they would have to drill a hole for each probe, and then sleep deprive me for a week to record the locations of my seizures. Armed with this information, they would then go into my brain and attempt to burn off those locations in my brain. I was done. I never wanted to see another doctor or pill again in my life. I decided that staying alive was worth 6 or 7 seizures a week.
On December 19, 2009, an old family friend and doctor after witnessing one of my seizures talked to me about the possibility of using THC to see how that would affect my seizures. I was skeptical, and even a little disgusted about the idea of using a “DRUG”. I hadn’t tried smoking pot for 11 years or more. Not since I was a teen doing it for the hell of it. I trusted his judgment, and tried marijuana. The heavens opened, the angels sang and I was sure we were all going to heaven. For three years there had been electrical explosions in my head constantly. It was gone! I could open my eyes all the way. Minor muscle tremors stopped almost instantly. I started to cry. I had my first seizure free week that week, and then my first seizure free month. Things were finally starting to work out it seemed.
On June 3, 2011, at 5am my world, my wife’s world, and my children’s world came to a screeching halt when 42 swat officers, several sheriffs and one very cocky drug task force agent executed a no knock warrant on my property. As my 7-year-old son slept in his bed safe and secure, a swat officer smashed in his door with a battering ram and threw it into his room. The battering ram bounced off his wall and ricocheted onto him bringing him instantly awake. The professional swat officers then threw a flash-bang directly in front of his just-opened eyes. As my 12-year-old son started to jump out of his bed from the noise, his door was breeched and a flash-bang was thrown directly in front of him. He was standing in his room almost naked in a daze. He was then forced to the ground with several weapons pointed at him. Shortly after, he was escorted outside and held at gunpoint for almost 15 minuets. My brother, just home from his second tour in Iraq was staying the night in preparation to take the 4 oldest children to an amusement park that morning. He was briefly detained and then finally allowed to gather all 6 children and try to calm them down. In total, 5 doors were rammed, and three flash-bangs were tossed into a home with six children ages 12 and under. Two of those flash-bangs were thrown directly into children’s rooms. The swat department and the drug task force were very aware there were children in the home before they entered it, they had come armed with social workers. My wife and I were both arrested and booked into the Eau Claire County jail that morning. During intake at the jail, my wife and I made it very clear to the jail intake officers that we were practicing Jews and that we only ate kosher. We went beyond telling them our religion and explained what that meant for us as far as dietary restrictions according to our religion. We were denied any food considered clean according to our beliefs during our entire time in jail. Neither my wife nor I ate those 4 days while we were taunted by guards that told us we could choose to eat if we wanted to and laughed and walked away. On my second day in jail, I had my first seizure in over 18 months due to their refusal to give me the only medicine known by my doctors to stop my seizures THC. On Sunday, June 5, I had my third seizure in jail, a Grand Maul seizure. During the seizure, fellow inmates attempted to get the guards attention to alert them to my medical problem. When the nurse finally came in, I was still not completely coherent, and the other inmates asked for help for me. They were told “He doesn’t look hurt, so he is fine” and left. I had soiled myself during the seizure; and when I came to I tried to get a guard to let me shower and clean up. They refused to let me out of my cell to shower for almost 12 hours.
June 6th 2011 by the grace of God, my wife and I were released on $2000 signature bond each. While in jail, the department of child services took our children. My younger brother fresh home from his second tour of duty in Iraq stepped in and took placement of all 6 of my children. In the four days we were in jail, he managed to find, lease and begin to furnish a new house for my children and him to live in, as DHS would not allow them to come back to my home. The swat unit and the West Central Drug Task force had completely destroyed almost all of my children’s belongings, and almost everything in our home. A hero to our country already, my brother has gone so far above and beyond what any one person should ever have to do, and has done it with six kids by his side and very limited resources. For now our children are safe and doing well. My mother has been a blessing in finding donations that went above and beyond what our children lost. A family friend has leased my brother a very nice home in the country, for less than half its value. Friends have almost completely replaced the children’s home-schooling books and supplies. God is taking care of our family.
As my wife and I move forward to fight these outrageous charges and try to sort out how to begin climbing out of this new obstacle we appreciate all of your support and encouragement. The amount of support has been overwhelming, and it makes me proud to know and love every one of my friends and family and their friends and family and all the people we don’t even know who are reaching out to us, and our family as a whole. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, to all that I have not been able to get back to or thank personally.
Our goal in releasing and publicizing this case is to alert the American people to what this war on drugs has cost our nation and our nations families. To change the policy of law enforcement departments regarding the use of deadly tactics against small children, and to show the state of Wisconsin that it is beyond time to enact medical marijuana laws that will SAVE lives. This failed war is costing our taxpayers millions of dollars every day, while they imprison families that are doing nothing more than taking a medication for a known medical problem. Like taking your anti-depressant or Tylenol for a headache. It is a medication. Only when enough people stand up and say “enough” will they start to listen. This is a call to every citizen in this state to actually learn about what is going on instead of listening to the puppets of a failed policy. It is time to stand up and demand that we be treated with dignity. My wife and I, along with our entire family will not stand down from this cause until we have succeeded. I will not stop until I know that no other child will ever have to see or go through what my children went through.
As new information becomes available to us we will post it to keep you updated.
I am posting updates to my blog page as well as my facebook page. You will find all court documents that I am able to get as well as stories from my children and other family.
www.jacobandlisasieg.blogspot.com/ The blog page
www.facebook.com/jacobsieg My facebook
On December 8, 1998, at the age of 16 I broke into a bar and several cabins with a group of my friends. June 3, 1999, at the age of 17 I was charged with those crimes and sentenced to 4 months in county jail and 5 years probation. I successfully completed probation exactly 5 years later without ever committing an offence or having a negative comment put into my file. I had completely closed the chapter of “Trouble Maker” in my book.
On August 12, 2000, I married the woman of my dreams, Lisa M. Spitzenberger and started my family. Not long into our marriage, our family was multiplying quickly, and we were preparing to start a new chapter in our life. I was living “The American Dream” so to speak. We were buying a growing business, the family was healthy, and we were preparing to purchase a small hobby farm for our massive gaggle of children we seemed to be accumulating.
On September 5, 2004, I started a new chapter in our book, “A Race To Rock Bottom” would fit good for a chapter title I guess for this painful adventure.
While trying to push a trailer hitch onto a truck, the hitch slipped and compressed my spine in several locations. After almost a year of trying to continue to run what had become a very large landscape, irrigation and garden center from my bed for the most part, we were forced to sell off or file bankruptcy on all portions of the business.
As we tried to find a viable option to repair the collapsed disc spaces and herniated discs, I began to spiral into a pit of legitimately prescribed pharmaceuticals. My medicine cabinet read like the inventory list from a pharmacy. My children were scared I was dying, and the medications had turned me almost completely non-functional. I spent most of my days either comatose on the bed, or screaming in pain. When they reached the point that they could no longer increase or add medications to control the pain an amazing neuro-surgeon agreed to try a very new and risky operation.
On July 16, 2007, I began “Climbing Out”. The surgery was perfect, and I came out of recovery with full feeling again and a dramatic decrease in pain. Within the second week of recovery, I requested a referral to a doctor that specialized in drug dependency; I wanted my mind and my family back. I wanted off all pharmaceuticals as fast and as safely possible. I could see the top of the hole, and the sun was shining. The weather was perfect to start rebuilding my family’s life. I was smiling for the first time in 3 years.
On July 3, 2008, my brother came home from his first tour in Iraq. During a welcome home party, some of the guys decided to shoot at some targets. The police were called due to the loud noises, and I was charged with felon in possession of a firearm I was sentenced to a week in huber for that crime. This is the only crime I have committed in my adult life.
On December 17, 2008, we were two months away from adding the final kid to our clan. Lisa went into pre-term labor, so I rushed her to the hospital, and she was sent directly to the maternity ward. As they were beginning to administer her a medication to stop the labor, the next great escapade in our adventure began “ Ol Sparky” fits that one well.
I had my first seizure moments after getting my wife on the hospital bed. I was rushed into ICU and remained their semi incoherent for three days. My last memory of that day was leaving my home to take my wife to the hospital, and my first memory after that is three weeks after taking her to the hospital. Almost 20 months later, after trying dozens of anti seizure drugs, most of which caused an increase in seizure activity, and seeing half as many specialists, they came up with a trial medication. Three days later a deadly reaction to the medication started and I was hospitalized. Their next recommendation to me was to undergo testing at over 100 sites in my brain. In order to do that, they would have to drill a hole for each probe, and then sleep deprive me for a week to record the locations of my seizures. Armed with this information, they would then go into my brain and attempt to burn off those locations in my brain. I was done. I never wanted to see another doctor or pill again in my life. I decided that staying alive was worth 6 or 7 seizures a week.
On December 19, 2009, an old family friend and doctor after witnessing one of my seizures talked to me about the possibility of using THC to see how that would affect my seizures. I was skeptical, and even a little disgusted about the idea of using a “DRUG”. I hadn’t tried smoking pot for 11 years or more. Not since I was a teen doing it for the hell of it. I trusted his judgment, and tried marijuana. The heavens opened, the angels sang and I was sure we were all going to heaven. For three years there had been electrical explosions in my head constantly. It was gone! I could open my eyes all the way. Minor muscle tremors stopped almost instantly. I started to cry. I had my first seizure free week that week, and then my first seizure free month. Things were finally starting to work out it seemed.
On June 3, 2011, at 5am my world, my wife’s world, and my children’s world came to a screeching halt when 42 swat officers, several sheriffs and one very cocky drug task force agent executed a no knock warrant on my property. As my 7-year-old son slept in his bed safe and secure, a swat officer smashed in his door with a battering ram and threw it into his room. The battering ram bounced off his wall and ricocheted onto him bringing him instantly awake. The professional swat officers then threw a flash-bang directly in front of his just-opened eyes. As my 12-year-old son started to jump out of his bed from the noise, his door was breeched and a flash-bang was thrown directly in front of him. He was standing in his room almost naked in a daze. He was then forced to the ground with several weapons pointed at him. Shortly after, he was escorted outside and held at gunpoint for almost 15 minuets. My brother, just home from his second tour in Iraq was staying the night in preparation to take the 4 oldest children to an amusement park that morning. He was briefly detained and then finally allowed to gather all 6 children and try to calm them down. In total, 5 doors were rammed, and three flash-bangs were tossed into a home with six children ages 12 and under. Two of those flash-bangs were thrown directly into children’s rooms. The swat department and the drug task force were very aware there were children in the home before they entered it, they had come armed with social workers. My wife and I were both arrested and booked into the Eau Claire County jail that morning. During intake at the jail, my wife and I made it very clear to the jail intake officers that we were practicing Jews and that we only ate kosher. We went beyond telling them our religion and explained what that meant for us as far as dietary restrictions according to our religion. We were denied any food considered clean according to our beliefs during our entire time in jail. Neither my wife nor I ate those 4 days while we were taunted by guards that told us we could choose to eat if we wanted to and laughed and walked away. On my second day in jail, I had my first seizure in over 18 months due to their refusal to give me the only medicine known by my doctors to stop my seizures THC. On Sunday, June 5, I had my third seizure in jail, a Grand Maul seizure. During the seizure, fellow inmates attempted to get the guards attention to alert them to my medical problem. When the nurse finally came in, I was still not completely coherent, and the other inmates asked for help for me. They were told “He doesn’t look hurt, so he is fine” and left. I had soiled myself during the seizure; and when I came to I tried to get a guard to let me shower and clean up. They refused to let me out of my cell to shower for almost 12 hours.
June 6th 2011 by the grace of God, my wife and I were released on $2000 signature bond each. While in jail, the department of child services took our children. My younger brother fresh home from his second tour of duty in Iraq stepped in and took placement of all 6 of my children. In the four days we were in jail, he managed to find, lease and begin to furnish a new house for my children and him to live in, as DHS would not allow them to come back to my home. The swat unit and the West Central Drug Task force had completely destroyed almost all of my children’s belongings, and almost everything in our home. A hero to our country already, my brother has gone so far above and beyond what any one person should ever have to do, and has done it with six kids by his side and very limited resources. For now our children are safe and doing well. My mother has been a blessing in finding donations that went above and beyond what our children lost. A family friend has leased my brother a very nice home in the country, for less than half its value. Friends have almost completely replaced the children’s home-schooling books and supplies. God is taking care of our family.
As my wife and I move forward to fight these outrageous charges and try to sort out how to begin climbing out of this new obstacle we appreciate all of your support and encouragement. The amount of support has been overwhelming, and it makes me proud to know and love every one of my friends and family and their friends and family and all the people we don’t even know who are reaching out to us, and our family as a whole. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, to all that I have not been able to get back to or thank personally.
Our goal in releasing and publicizing this case is to alert the American people to what this war on drugs has cost our nation and our nations families. To change the policy of law enforcement departments regarding the use of deadly tactics against small children, and to show the state of Wisconsin that it is beyond time to enact medical marijuana laws that will SAVE lives. This failed war is costing our taxpayers millions of dollars every day, while they imprison families that are doing nothing more than taking a medication for a known medical problem. Like taking your anti-depressant or Tylenol for a headache. It is a medication. Only when enough people stand up and say “enough” will they start to listen. This is a call to every citizen in this state to actually learn about what is going on instead of listening to the puppets of a failed policy. It is time to stand up and demand that we be treated with dignity. My wife and I, along with our entire family will not stand down from this cause until we have succeeded. I will not stop until I know that no other child will ever have to see or go through what my children went through.
As new information becomes available to us we will post it to keep you updated.
I am posting updates to my blog page as well as my facebook page. You will find all court documents that I am able to get as well as stories from my children and other family.
www.jacobandlisasieg.blogspot.com/ The blog page
www.facebook.com/jacobsieg My facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jacob-Lisa-Sieg-vs-State-Of-Wisconsin-medical-thc/169688199762729 Facebook page on our case
siegjacob@yahoo.com My email
http://wcca.wicourts.gov/pager.do;jsessionid=BA4F2C4E2595AAAA6B1E6D4251CBEE15.render6?cacheId=1DE6B749FF68F873F43647B3395943A4&offset=0&sortColumn=0&sortDirection=DESC My criminal recod
May God bless and protect you all,
Jacob J Sieg
siegjacob@yahoo.com My email
http://wcca.wicourts.gov/pager.do;jsessionid=BA4F2C4E2595AAAA6B1E6D4251CBEE15.render6?cacheId=1DE6B749FF68F873F43647B3395943A4&offset=0&sortColumn=0&sortDirection=DESC My criminal recod
May God bless and protect you all,
Jacob J Sieg
This is unacceptable. Nothing short of domestic terrorism.
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