A bill pending in Congress would drastically increase federal
penalties for marijuana, wasting millions of tax dollars and severely
punishing thousands of nonviolent marijuana offenders. It would
reduce the quantity of marijuana that qualifies a defendant for a
five-or ten-year minimum sentence.

Judges, not Congress, should determine the appropriate penalties on a
case-by-case basis. Minimum sentences tie judges' hands and
overcrowd prisons, leaving no room for violent offenders.

Increased penalties don't work as a deterrent. Instead, they ruin
the lives of those unlucky enough to get caught. To the extent that
this would have any deterrent effect at all, it would strengthen
organized crime and increase the incentive for small marijuana dealers
to become bigger dealers.

Why not just sell cocaine, which yields a larger profit margin for
the same risk?

Marnie Regen San Jose, Calif.