I live in a place that has many methamphetamine [meth] labs. Meth use is a problem in the town. The police have some difficulties. True story with names changed.

Guy who deals was well known to police and anyone who frequented a few of the bars in town. It took the police over a year and a half to build a case against him. His lab was busted as was he. At the time he was in possession of meth for the purpose of trafficking. He was also in possession of a pistol for which he had no permit.

It is likely that he was personally responsible for getting more than thirty kids onto meth (and for those who may not be aware, meth is one of the more addicting drugs on the planet). The B and E rate rose as did violence amongst the younger kids. Long story short, a damned judge gave the guy a reaaly heavy sentence: that piece of shit was out of jail in three months. Instances like that make people begin to think of taking law into their own hands. Justifiably, IMO.

I could give you many other similar stories. But, at the end of the day, it seems to boil down to this: If the penalties for dealing addicting drugs are minor, then the dealer is back on the streets real quick. It gets people angry. FWIW.