Drug warrior faces 20 years on drug charges

On Thursday an El Paso County Commissioner, with a reputation for shouting down any efforts towards drug law reform, was was indicted by a federal grand jury for "conspiracy to distribute more than 110 pounds (50 kg) of cannabis."

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[Willie Gandara Jr. has] been accused of conspiring to distribute 50 kg of weed. But if he were conspiring to distribute only 49 kg, his penalties would have been less severe. Since this would be Gandara's first offense, his prison sentence would have gone from no more than 20 years to no more than five, if convicted. Meanwhile, fines would have been capped at $250,000 per offense, not $1 million. You would think a county commissioner and drug warrior would know more about drug laws.

Unfortunately, the drug war's lack of logic doesn't end there. Marijuana is a Schedule I drug, which according to the DEA, means it has "high potential for abuse, have no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and there is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision." But both meth and PCP are Schedule II.

Drug warrior faces 20 years on drug charges