[nighthawk1]

I think many times these arrests are meant to be a demonstration that law enforcement is doing their job. I imagine even the arresting agents realize this guy is a drop in the ocean and his customers will quickly flock to his replacement.

Similar to those folks who work in a corporate environment who complete a document that they know will be jettisoned into a corporate black hole but checks off a requirement.

[tylersmith]

Sure, but "doing their job" is a bullshit excuse for taking somebody's life away. Honestly it's worse IMO. They know it accomplishes nothing except making them look a tiny bit better to their bosses. Destroying a person's life for career advancement is quite different than making a worthless gdoc that nobody will read.

[giarc]

>excuse for taking somebody's life away.

There are a million other things he could have sold online that wouldn't have resulted in 20 years in jail. Whether you agree with the illegal status of drugs or not, if someone choose to subvert the law, you can't expect law enforcement not to prosecute.

[jMyles]

> if someone choose to subvert the law, you can't expect law enforcement not to prosecute.

Sure, that's fine.

But it also obfuscates the more important point: I can expect (and I do expect) that a reasonable, mature society stop this idiotic practice in the first place.

Refusing to learn from the failures of drug prohibition throughout history is one thing, but continuing a current and clearly failed experiment for an entire century is flabbergasting and childish.

Who will be the last person who's life is ruined for no reason? Will it be this dude? Or someone in the same position tomorrow?

[s73v3r_]

"Sure, but "doing their job" is a bullshit excuse for taking somebody's life away."

I can't have sympathy for someone who was selling opioids to addicts, exacerbating a terrible epidemic.

"Destroying a person's life"

The feds didn't do that, his own actions did that.

[tylersmith]

> I can't have sympathy for someone who was selling opioids to addicts, exacerbating a terrible epidemic.

That's a philosophical question about how much people own their own lives versus how much you should be able to dictate their lives for your own selfish sense of peace of mind. We're not going to change anyone's minds on that in HN comments.

> The feds didn't do that, his own actions did that.

The "feds" did do that, in response to his actions, because people like you manadte via votes that they do that.

[s73v3r_]

No. He did it to himself, through his actions.

[TomMarius]

He's not there voluntarily, is he?

[s73v3r_]

He is responsible for his own actions. No one forced him to become a drug kingpin.