DA Kamala Harris wants more prosecutors on her team -- which seems to be a smart move for a DA that's been criticized in some circles for being soft and rarely prosecuting cases.

But her reasoning for beefin' up the staff? To tackle the "quality of life" crimes of graffiti, prostitution and aggressive panhandling that, according to Harris, can graduate to more serious crimes.

So, yeah -- sounds like that "weed's the gateway to harder substances" theory. Tagging, aggressive begging, and the world's oldest profession are like "gateway crimes" to, you know, harder things. The very ones that Harris is criticized for not being tough enough on.

Interesting. We're all for coming down hard on as many crimes as possible, but, honestly, somehow we'd feel better if there was a commitment being made to put a stop to the established perps of harder crimes. Cuz we're not sure we buy it. (We don't really believe the "gateway drug" theory either). If we were cynical, we might say that it appears she's just looking for quicker, higher-rate convictions.

We suppose it's up to the mayor and the board o' supes, though, to determine how this shakes out. Good thing they're smarter than us.