Much as I am generally against the War On Some Drugs and particularly the crazy sentences meted out for nonviolent offenders, I'm feeling a bit of devil's advocate on this one.<p>The title tries to paint her as a ordinary user, but it sounds like she was actually a mid-level dealer, or at least some kind of participant in a drug ring. And who carried a gun while making deals. Who entered the business hoping to make even more money than the hair salon, burger joint, and restaurant she started with unknown degrees of success, according to the article. It also sounds like she managed to get hit with a particularly bad set of federal sentence enhancements - maybe she got into this without the right kind of help telling her what to do to minimize sentences given arrest in the current legal climate.<p>I tend to feel the most sympathy for the end-users who get huge sentences for simple possession of modest, personal-use amounts of drugs, particularly when they're addicted. It's much harder to feel sympathy for those who enter a highly illegal market looking to make big money. Yeah, prohibition is kinda bullshit, but as long as we're stuck with it, remember that the reason the prohibited market is so profitable is that you risk doing hard time if you get caught, and enforcement is aggressive and vigorous. You wanna make that money, I don't hate you for it, but don't ask me to cry for you when you get busted.