[photo] Gov. Scott Walker announced the creation of a state task force to address the Wisconsin's troubling increase in opioid abuse at a Walgreens pharmacy at 3522 W. Wisconsin Ave.(Photo: Maggie Angst / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Gov. Scott Walker on Thursday called for a special legislative session to fight heroin addiction and ordered state agencies to ramp up their response to a drug that kills hundreds in Wisconsin each year.

The Republican governor held series of events Thursday in Weston, Green Bay and Chippewa Falls to announce the special session and the executive orders, which seek to implement recommendations from a report issued by Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette).

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WASHINGTON -- The DC Cannabis Coalition says it plans to hand out thousands of joints of marijuana on Inauguration Day -- for free -- to urge federal legalization of pot.

The group plans to start handing out joints at 8 a.m. Jan. 20 on the west side of Dupont Circle in the nation's capital, where recreational marijuana is legal. Then, marchers will walk to the National Mall where the real protest will begin.

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A recommendation by state Rep. Joel Kleefisch would have parents request their high school students be tested for illegal drugs.

Students drive out of the parking lot at the end of the school day at De Pere High School on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016. Students who have parking permits at the school are subjected to random drug testing throughout the school year.(Photo: Adam Wesley/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wi)

GREEN BAY - Rep. Joel Kleefisch had a ready response for lawmakers and school administrators who were quick to speak out against a proposal late last year for statewide random drug testing in high schools.

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