Mackenzie Phillips gets off latest drug bust with slap on the hand

Whether it was another very lenient California judge or a great defense lawyer but somehow Mackenzie Phillips has dodged jail time for her latest arrest for drug possession. Normally one would think that getting arrested with baggies and balloons of cocaine and heroin in your pants going through airport security as Mackenzie did in August would lead to a long jail sentence? After the bust, she checked herself in for her 10th stint in rehab. Apparently this convinced a judge to order a 18-month drug diversion program after Mackenzie pleaded guilty to a felony drug charge, specifically cocaine. The other charges against Phillips were dismissed and the revolving doors of justice have pretty much set her free as long as she goes to the diversion program. I just can’t imagine the average person getting off so easily but I am very happy for Mackenzie anyway. And one ray of sunshine is these drug diversion programs are pretty effective when suitable candidates are selected. Graduates of a drug diversion program have fewer re-arrests following drug court referral than any of the other outcome groups.

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