It is my sincere belief that there are many criminals who commit misdemeanor crimes who would benefit tremendously by rehabilitation programs such as the SAMI (Substance Abuse and Mental Illness) program as well as the drug-court program.

However, there aren't any such programs for misdemeanor offenders. Rehab programs like Sojourner have a waiting list that can be six months to one year long.

Convicted felons from both SAMI program and drug court take precedence over the misdemeanor offenders ... which seems a bit unfair, to say the least.

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