Priorities

This is what a criminal justice system with its head up its ass looks like. Yesterday in Seattle:

A repeat car thief -- who had tried to run down police officers several times and once was shot during a pursuit -- crashed into an off-duty Seattle police officer's car early Monday, killing her and himself.

...

At the time, Neal R. Kelley had a warrant out for his arrest for violating the terms of his probation. Law enforcement officials Monday were outraged that Kelley, 35, who had a criminal record bristling with auto thefts and assaults, wasn't still behind bars.

On the same day in the Seattle PI:

In her spacious suburban home, Robin DeBow cleans countertops until they gleam, vacuums the carpets to plush perfection and then turns toward her most pressing chore -- tending the large pot plant budding in her sunny front room.

It's a job DeBow has fought for years to perform. Though not a marijuana user herself, the 44-year-old Lewis County woman has been authorized to provide the potent herb to her son, Chris Chastain, a 27-year-old paraplegic.

Yet despite a state law permitting use of marijuana in certain medical cases -- as well as permission from two doctors -- DeBow was charged with manufacture of a controlled substance in August and faced up to five years in prison.

She's not alone. Legal advocates estimate that in the past five years, at least 100 Washington residents authorized to use or provide marijuana have been charged with drug crimes. Some have done jail time. Others have drained their savings paying for lawyers.

A special thanks to the four members of our Congressional delegation in Washington DC (Reichert, McMorris, Hastings, and Larsen) who voted to make stopping medical marijuana in Washington State a priority.