Public Health Madison Dane County (PHMDC) program coordinator Jacob Niesen was arrested Tuesday and formally charged Thursday after police say they intercepted packages containing hundreds of grams of drugs known as “bath salts” and MDMA, enough for thousands of doses, and subsequently found illegal ketamine at his residence, according to court records.
According to emails and other documents obtained by Madison365, Niesen’s work with PHMDC included activities like overdose data monitoring and addiction treatment, and that he wanted the agency to do more to provide drug checking materials for drug users.
PHMDC officials did not immediately respond to email and phone messages asking whether Niesen’s job offered him access to people in addiction…