Cheers to Mike Downey for his Aug. 6 column on Robert Downey Jr.'s
jail sentence. Judge Lawrence Mira used very poor judgment in his
decision on how the taxpayers' dollars are best spent and how to
handle drug addiction. Housing and feeding drug addicts and exposing
them to real criminals is not a solution.

Helping them through rehabilitation is the only correct method to
solve drug addiction.

Robert Downey Jr. is a public figure, so we will hear how he is
handled by the system.

How many drug addicts are incarcerated who we do not hear
about?

How many lives are destroyed because incarceration is an easy and
short term solution to a long term problem?

JAN FOSTER
West Hollywood