Pubdate: Mon, 01 Dec 2003
Source: News & Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2003 The News and Observer Publishing Company
Contact:  http://www.news-observer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/304
Author: Joyce Hayes

A SERIOUS MATTER

Regarding your Nov. 21 editorial "Cocaine's legal haze," no one who has had 
a family member or loved one addicted to cocaine or crack cocaine would 
share your opinion. A state law making cocaine possession a felony prevents 
many would-be cocaine dealers from selling this drug. This problem is 
horrible already. Imagine what will happen if possession is a misdemeanor.

The state Court of Appeals' ruling means and I quote from my local paper, 
"someone could be arrested for having as many as 150 $20 rocks of cocaine 
and be charged with only a misdemeanor." If this interpretation stands, 
nearly all dealers arrested would be charged only with a misdemeanor, and 
the addicts, for whom incarceration is in their best interest, would 
continue to walk the streets as slaves to the addiction. If citizens think 
burglaries, robberies, car thefts, breaking and entering and larceny are a 
problem now, wait until this law is changed. It may triple the number of 
dealers and addicts. Stealing to obtain money or goods to trade for drugs 
will increase proportionately.

Worried about the cost to keep a person in prison for a year? You better 
worry about the cost to society of not being tough on this particular drug. 
To allow cocaine possession to be a misdemeanor is very poor judgment. 
We're going to send the message to our teenagers that crack and cocaine are 
no worse than marijuana? I don't think so.

Joyce Hayes

Newport
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