Weeded out

With Alabama's prisons dangerously overcrowded, it makes no sense to put almost 500 people annually behind bars for up to 10 years for marijuana possession. Drug courts, which exist in 18 of the state's 67 counties, make much more sense from safety and cost-efficiency standpoints, and a couple of members of Gov. Bob Riley's prison-overcrowding task force have said as much. Still, that may be a tough sell in a state with some of the country's stiffest drug punishments.