Drug Penalties

While I personally believe that drugs are a menace to our society and
should not be decriminalized, I am appalled that thousands of the most
disadvantaged of our citizens sit in jail cells based on our legal system's
criminal interpretation of what Councilman Mike Hernandez has termed his
illness (Sept. 24). If those who are incarcerated today for the same
offenses see that the privileged and politically connected are not subject
to the same laws, how can we expect the inmates to respect any law when
they rejoin our society?

H. PAT ARTIS
Palm Desert