This is an outrage.

CANTON, Ohio (AP) - A man who sold a bag of baking soda as crack cocaine to an undercover police officer in a drug sting has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. Kenyan L. Chandler, 22, of Massillon, was sentenced Tuesday in Stark County Common Pleas Court.

Police said Chandler negotiated a deal with the officer in July that he would deliver 4.5 ounces of crack for $8,000. Chandler produced a small bag and was arrested. Later, tests showed it was baking soda. A jury convicted him last week of cocaine trafficking, which Ohio law defines as selling or offering to sell the drug. It makes no difference that Chandler was peddling a fake, Stark County assistant prosecutor Joe Vance said.

The amount was found to be more than 100 grams, qualifying Chandler as a major drug offender. That brings a mandatory 10-year sentence, and a judge may add up to 10 more years.

Here's the kicker: Chandler could have been charged with selling fake drugs, known as counterfeit controlled substances. The maximum prison term for that offense is one year.

This is a state case. But under Ashcroft's new memos, it could happen easily in the federal system. The case is a great example of why it is such a horrible idea to grant more powers to prosecutors and direct them to file the most serious charges possible, while reducing the role of the judiciary to depart from mandatory minimums and guideline sentences in situations judges believe a departure is called for.