Plan to overhaul drug sentencing brings out emotional crowd

An emotional crowd jammed a hearing Wednesday as state leaders tried sorting through a proposal to overhaul Minnesota’s drug sentencing guidelines to decrease prison time and better distinguish addicts from potentially violent drug dealers.

Randy Anderson, a three-time felon in his 10th year of recovery from cocaine addiction, said the assumption that all dealers are dangerous is ludicrous. At the height of his addiction, he was using 10 to 14 grams a day and dealing drugs just to support his habit. When the police came for him, he was charged with possessing more than 1,000 grams of cocaine. While desperately addicted, he says he was never violent.

http://www.startribune.com/plan-to-overhaul-drug-sentencing-brings-out-emotional-crowd/363436581/