Blogging for Freedom

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Dear Editor,

Before everyone starts judging, moralizing and crucifying those two basketball students who were arrested for possession of small amounts of marijuana and magic mushrooms, our entire community should ask itself if the penalty they now face is commensurate with their crime. On both charges they face six years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

Of course, their lives are completely ruined. They will lose their scholarships and student aid. They will be convicted felons, so they will have a record to overcome. They will spend time in jail learning nothing but how to get into more trouble. Because they had a defective tail light and happened to have a small amount of personal drugs in their possession after a party on a Friday night, these kids face more time than if they had gotten drunk and sexually assaulted coeds.

The United States incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world. Not all police, DEA and sheriffs believe in our draconian drug laws. LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) actively works to educate communities about the exploding increase in arrests and violations of the civil rights of non-violent American citizens in the name of the War on Drugs.

Sincerely,
Janice Porter