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Should someone who is caught with heroin on the streets of Elko receive a misdemeanor citation instead of being arrested for a felony?

The answer to that question is not as simple as it sounds, when you consider how more and more manpower in our courts is being used to babysit drug addicts.

The Nevada Commission on the Administration of Justice is slated to discuss watering down the state’s drug laws when it meets next week in Carson City. The panel will “recommend reducing the penalty for possession of small amounts of drugs including heroin, meth and cocaine that are now considered felonies,” reported the Nevada Appeal. It would be up to the Democrat-controlled Legislature and incoming governor to make and approve the changes.

At their last commission meeting, Carson District Judge Jim Wilson said addiction is a disease and putting addicts in prison “makes no sense to me on any level.”

His comments were part of a lively discussion that included a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department representative saying officers should have the discretion to issue citations instead of arresting people for first and second drug offenses. Judges on the panel called for ending mandatory sentencing rules and allowing them to decide who belongs in prison and for how long.