WHAT CRIME?

THE DEA claims that its "job is to enforce the federal drug statutes and
we're committed to doing that." ("Pot activists claim innocence," The
Examiner, March 5) But what America's lunatic drug crusaders never say is
how utterly ridiculous the penalties for "marijuana crimes" are.

According to the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2000, the
average prison term served for violent offenses of all kinds is nine years.
The average forcible rape sentence is 10 years. Assault averages six years
and a burglar does about five years.

Kenneth Hayes, Edward Rosenthal, Richard Watts and James Halloran face
mandatory sentences of 10 years to life for growing a plant that eases the
suffering of people with serious illnesses.

Where's the moral justification for imprisoning a person when no injury is
done? Why should the pot laws be on the books to begin with?

Redford Givens
The City