It was never about the drugs. The change the law increased the amount the police had to plant on someone to lock them away in a federal penitentiary, and they

It was never about the drugs. The change the law increased the amount the police had to plant on someone to lock them away in a federal penitentiary, and they had not expected it to show up so strongly in the data. Back when the minimum was 50g they could hide in the noise but at 280g it stands out. In a well functioning society this would trigger investigations of all of the cases where the suspect was charged with carrying just over the limit on suspicious of police misconduct, but the police don't want that so it's not going to happen.