MARIJUANA NOT LIKE METH

"If you smoke marijuana and you run out, you're probably not going to
go out and steal a car or rob someone. It's not going to be that
important to you, but methamphetamine is different," Cpl. Dave Reagan
of the Spokane County Sheriff's Office said on March 24, 2004, in an
article on ABC.com.

Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Dianne Dougherty, however, seems
intent on prosecuting 66-year-old medical marijuana patient Christine
Baggett ("Surprise side effect," June 5). Even though the facts are
clear that she wasn't "dealing drugs," she's being charged as if she
was selling heroin to high-school kids. This is a clever way for the
justice system to circumvent medical marijuana legislation, which
specifically allows patients like Baggett to possess a certain amount
of marijuana for personal medicinal use.

Prosecuting and jailing people like Baggett also wastes our limited
police and court resources. Sheriff Knezovich wants taxpayers to spend
millions on building bigger jails to house more inmates ("County
weighs jail options," June 6). Our courts are overloaded, police can't
respond to all the 911 calls and we can't get meth houses out of our
neighborhoods. Remember this when you need the police but they're too
busy busting sick old ladies. Free Christine Baggett.

JANICE PORTER

Spokane