The language in the media is different and the treatment of users and low level offenders is different. I've got relatives that are hooked on pills and they don't get shit kicked and life sentence when they get caught with the pill equivalent of a couple of rocks, at least they haven't yet. There is someone here with a brother that has a bunch of drug arrests. Maybe he will share.

You read the media lamenting that a bottle of pills can get you a mandatory minimum because of the weight of the pills even if the weight of active ingredient is lower. Why the sympathy now?

Alex Jones and company are claiming that the whole opioid epidemic was manufactured deliberately by "big pharma". That sounds a lot like what some black leaders were saying when they proposed that the crack epidemic was created by the CIA to destroy black inner cities.

Now why are people like Alex Jones making excuses for pill poppers when they didn't and don't for "crack thugs"?

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/07/11/woman-sentenced-role-texas-opioid-pill-mill/

Why is the sentencing so light?

Why is there only now talk of easing mandatory minimums after all these years? Is it that we have a drug epidemic that is affecting broad demographic?

Tallahassee was considering changing the mandatories back in 2014 because they said it was unfair to users that get caught with a few pills. I don't recall any such leniency by Tallahasee regarding other drugs.