[Zevonismymuse]

"Perhaps not, but the real point is that it is illegal and those that knowingly break the law knowingly put themselves in danger of being incarcerated."

Just as the person who drinks two beers before driving home breaks the law. Here in California a first DUI offense will land you a mandatory minimum incarceration, often served on weekends like this 19 year old pot delivery boy.

I think we are rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic to lock up substance users and abusers while guys like the rapist are in and out because of lack of space in the jails.

[Richard Kimball]

Whether marijuana SHOULD be legal or not, the simple fact is, marijuana is NOT legal. This means that the boy SHOULD expect some penalty for getting caught doing something he KNEW was illegal. OTOH, the penalty was supposed to be a few weekends behind bars, not a weekend of getting homosexually raped.

But, Matthew Shepard didn't plan on dying tied to a fence, either. Sometimes the penalty for doing something stoopid is more severe than it seems like it should be. I've been blessed. I've done some very stupid things, and have never had to pay the full price of my deeds.