Drugs and Deviance

       In the United States, drugs are generally considered deviant. Punishments for drug possession are so harsh in some states. In one state (I forget which) you can get a life sentence for selling, even if it's your first offense. That's at the same level as serial killers and rapists. Some rapists/murderers actually end up serving less than their sentence and getting out. Should drug dealing really be punishable at the same level as killing somebody? I don't think so. There's no direct harm occuring when drugs are sold. If somebody wants to risk taking the drug, then that's their decision. The dealer isn't forcing them to take it, so why would someone who sells face such a harsh punishment. They're just trying to run a business. In reality, it would actually be really convenient for the government to legalize certain drugs. Imagine all the money they would make off of the taxes. It would reduce a substantial amount of our country's debt.
       Also, it seems that only the lower classes are busted for drug possession, use, etc. It's something that all classes do, so either punish everybody or punish no one. Punishing the impoverished people does no good. If law enforcement really wanted to stop the usage of drugs, they should go after the heads of illegal drug selling operations. Those are the guys who bring it to the people in poverty. They're the ones causing the so-called problem, but because they're wealthy they're overlooked. Drug usage goes on in all different kinds of neighberhoods, but only the lower class areas ever get busted. I can definetely see that going on around where I live.