LOSE-LOSE DRUG LAWS

Re: The huge cost of harsh sentences, editorial, Dec. 22.

Kudos for that editorial. Most Floridians have no inkling of the cost and
uselessness of Florida's anti-drug laws. For example, according to Florida
statute, fraudulent possession of 4 grams of Percocet brings a 25-year
mandatory minimum sentence for "trafficking" (selling is not required).
Although a 330-milligram pill contains only 5 milligrams of Oxycodone, the
weight of the entire pill is weighed to calculate the sentence, according
to the statute. Thus 13 pills bring the full 25- year sentence to Florida
prisons.

Almost all arrestees are too poor to fight the system. They take a plea
rather than risk conviction to a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence, and
are quietly put away. But two local arrestees have the resources to fight
and go to trial in February. Both involve individuals with diagnosed back
injuries, whose doctors' mistakes provided these two patients with more
than 13 Percocet pills, and the patients did not report this to law
enforcement.

These cases are a lose-lose for Floridians: If convicted, kiss another
$1-million in criminal justice costs goodbye; if acquitted, expect Florida
physicians to be more restrictive in treating chronic pain.