POT SMOKERS EASY TO JAIL

Letter writer Ray Haskell ("Legalizing pot cuts jail time," March 14)
argues that the problem of overcrowded jails causing the premature
release of violent convicts could be eliminated through the
decriminalization of marijuana.

While I agree that marijuana should be legal -- marijuana prohibition
causes much greater harm to society than marijuana -- he's looking at
a problem that's not a problem in the eyes of those who decide.

First, check the amount of money the prison guards unions spend
annually on lobbying efforts. Then consider that what they lobby for
is more laws that throw more people in prison and for longer
sentences. Bulging prisons are bulging budgets. And marijuana smokers
certainly are easier to baby-sit than rapists and robbers.

There are so many principled and just reasons why the war on
non-corporate drugs should be ended, but for each reason there is a
lobby group ready to protect its budget and profits with the familiar
battle cry, "Just say no!"

R.L. ROOT
Westminster, Calif.