The cocaine business appears to the booming in South Carolina. At the same time, many of the state's biggest accused cocaine dealers aren't feeling the sting of tough mandatory prison sentences that state lawmakers passed more than a decade ago in an effort to crack down on drug trafficking.

Cocaine is back in the news, thanks to last month's indictment of Charleston multimillionaire Thomas Ravenel, who was elected state Treasurer in November. ...

Cocaine is a drug in heavy demand, with a top DEA agent in the state calling it a strong drug that has been behind people losing their homes, families and fortunes. Cocaine also tends to appeal to people in the middle class to upper class.

Ravenel's case has attracted a lot of attention for obvious reasons: He's rich. He's a newly elected state official. And there's natural concern in many quarters that he may get special treatment because of those points. ...

Drugs are destructive to our society - whether they are the powdered cocaine favored by the well-to-do, or the crack or methamphetamine found in less well-heeled areas. The punishment should fit the crime regardless of where the drugs are used or the form they come in. That's especially so if the cocaine industry is booming.

The Greenville News