There is no 'usual' or 'normal' ratio between a non-parole period and a head sentence; phrases such as 'shorter than usual' are unhelpful and apt to mislead and should be avoided by sentencing judges and counsel. In a quantity-based drug trafficking sentencing regime, the quantity trafficked will ordinarily be of much greater significance than the period over which it is trafficked or the number of transactions. The parity principle permits different sentences for co-offenders where the differentiation is reasonably open to the sentencing judge on the material before the court.
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