China's Drug War Cruelty
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 10:48 AM

The absurd punishments for the consensual drug-related 'crimes' in the US are disheartening, but some countries are even worse -- I suppose the States can take some comfort there? China is one of the most egregious offenders. Right now, seven Ugandans have been sentenced to death for heroin trafficking in China. They were convicted of trafficking in more than 50 grams -- that's nearly two ounces, folks, and might be enough to keep a single addict supplied with heroin for a whole month. (If they were convicted of trafficking of less than 50 grams, they would have been eligible "only" for 15 years in prison.) The Ugandan government is pleading for clemency from the Chinese, but at the same time, doesn't want anyone to think that Uganda isn't committed to the well-designed global drug war policy. The story can be found here.

Labels: China, heroin, sentencing