Pubdate: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 Source: Frederick News Post (MD) Copyright: 2000 Great Southern Printing and Manufacturing Company Address: 200 East Patrick Street, PO Box 578, Frederick, MD 21705-0578 Fax: 301-662-8299 Feedback: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/contact/contactfinalnew.cfm?contact=letters Website: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/ Author: Douglas Scott Arey FAULTED DRUG POLICY That's wild. On page B5 of the Nov. 30 Frederick News-Post we read Lt. Gov. Kathleen Townsend defends her "Break the Cycle" drug probation program. The controversy erupted due to a program participant who had 72 probation violations, including some five dozen urine testing violations, upon which no action had been taken ... . For comparison and contrast, note that a Hagerstown man was sentenced to 18 months in the Washington County Detention Center for violating his probation for just four urine testing violations (page B3 of the Nov. 1 Hagerstown Herald Mail). Since both probationers were in Kennedy-Townsend's "Break the Cycle" program, it seems Break the Cycle is itself broken, unless it has two standards of justice depending upon where one lives. This makes it difficult to see how the lieutenant governor can defend such an arbitrary program. Absent uniform enforcement of all laws across the entire state of Maryland, our criminal "justice" system will continue to provoke outrage among all citizens. Douglas Scott Arey, Hagerstown - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake