# It's about time, you fucking idiots **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 13, 2005, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-about-time-you-fucking-idiots/284520 "2005-01-13T06:28:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-about-time-you-fucking-idiots/284520/1 "2005-01-13T06:28:47Z")
[U.S. High Court Gives Judges Sentencing Discretion](http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=7309519) > [@Reuters](#): > > WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a major criminal law decision, a closely divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that federal judges no longer must follow the long-criticized sentencing guidelines in effect since 1987. > > The 5-4 ruling was a defeat for the U.S. Justice Department, which had defended as constitutional the federal sentencing guidelines that apply to more than 60,000 criminal defendants each year. > > Thousands of cases nationwide have been on hold awaiting a high court ruling. The decision, which makes the guidelines advisory instead of mandatory, was seen as the most important criminal law decision of the court’s term. > … And it only took _18 fucking years_ to realize that mandatory minimums were _generally_ as bullshit as 20 years in prison for a single hit of blotter is _specifically_. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-about-time-you-fucking-idiots/284520/2 "2005-01-13T12:45:27Z")
I concor. [sub]What’s a blotter?[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-about-time-you-fucking-idiots/284520/3 "2005-01-13T12:46:54Z")
BTW, I also conc **u** r. ---
**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-about-time-you-fucking-idiots/284520/4 "2005-01-13T13:02:38Z")
Blotter acid, or LSD I assume. ---
**Author:** ![Emilio\_Lizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-about-time-you-fucking-idiots/284520/5 "2005-01-13T14:28:26Z")
IIRC, the penalties for most drugs are based on weight. A dose of LSD is very small, in the microgram range. Since it’s a liquid, however, the drug is usually placed on a carrier, often a piece of blotter paper or in some cases a sugar cube. A single cube only contains one microscopic dose of the drug, but it _weighs_ as much as hundreds of doses, so people in possesion of only one hit were sentenced as if they were big-time dealers. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-about-time-you-fucking-idiots/284520/6 "2005-01-13T15:19:28Z")
> [@Emilio Lizardo](#): > > A single cube only contains one microscopic dose of the drug, but it _weighs_ as much as hundreds of doses, so people in possesion of only one hit were sentenced as if they were big-time dealers. You’re kidding. Please tell me you’re kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Emilio\_Lizardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Emilio\_Lizardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emilio_Lizardo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-about-time-you-fucking-idiots/284520/7 "2005-01-13T15:57:30Z")
Doing a google search on [LSD weight sentencing](http://www.google.com/search?q=lsd+weight+sentencing) brings up a bunch of relevant hits, but you can find a basic summation [here](http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1568/is_n5_v25/ai_14536893). In all fairness, most of these articles are quite old. This quirk may have been fixed a while ago; I haven’t kept current, and I don’t have time to do much research now. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2005, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-about-time-you-fucking-idiots/284520/8 "2005-01-14T17:59:44Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > You’re kidding. Please tell me you’re kidding. This is nothing new. It’s like someone getting charged for 2lbs of pot, when the plants are still growing and wet. When really, the total amount of the pot is probably a couple of ounces dried. Kinda the same thing.