Thus one generations mercy is changed into another's injustice. In the bad old days, felonies meant death, mutilation, or banishment. In mercy it was decided that one could serve some time in jail and lose some rights. Now that is thought of as too harsh.
Mind you, I am coming to agree that the war on drugs is creating more problems than it seems to be solving. There's some question about the fairness of some drug felony laws. But the notion that in felonies generally more is at stake than time in jail is not a priori a bad one.
The problem is that all crimes seem to be felonies except for government people. Lying to a police officer or Judge can be a felony, but it is perfectly legal for them to lie to you. If you try to bribe a witness it is a felony, but it is standard operating procedure for prosecutors. If you take a bribe it is a felony, but if your Congress Critter takes a bribe it is a campaign contribution. If you take someone against their will it is kidnapping, but when was the last time you ever saw a police officer arrested for kidnapping (when they put the wrong person in custody)?
Sentencing is a joke too. I can't prove it, but I would bet a lot, that how much money you have to spend on lawyers is a pretty good inverse indicator of how much time you will be spending in prison.