Please tell me that the letter titled "Hurrah for the pot police" was
someone's very sick idea of a joke. In self-defense-induced denial, I
really don't want to acknowledge the fact that there are people
running loose out there with such perverted notions about good and
evil.

I do find it strange that someone so proud of their Christian values
elected to have their name withheld. But not wanting to get into a "my
god is better than your god" type of discussion, I won't take that any
further.

I am even more offended at the hate and racism evident in this
person's nasty little poison-pen spewings. Given a choice between the
two, I'll take a thong-wearing, bicycle-riding, ganja-smoking hippie
any day of the week.

At least I wouldn't have to worry that the hippie was going to beat me
to death with racist, pseudo-religious dogma.

Melanie McMahan,
Asheville

Editor's note: Stop! It was satire a sarcastic diatribe against the
war on drugs.

Seldom does a letter provoke such inflamed and misunderstood
responses as did "Hurrah for the pot police."

And because the letter, published in our April 26 issue, was run on
our Web site, it elicited reactions not only from local readers, but
from Internet users in other states and Canada.