<p>Drug crime and the anti-drug war have long been the focus of criminal justice around the world, few research explored the relationship between drug purity and drug sentencing. By linking criminal law and judicial files with sentencing practice in China, this article introduces the commonalities and uniqueness of drug death sentence to the international community. With 182 capital cases consisting of 337 offenders from the Guangzhou Intermediate Court, we find that (a) judges have their own strategies to handle purity in drug cases; (b) drug purity has an observable effect on the death sentence in accordance with judicial files; (c) cases resulting in the death sentence generally feature the highest purity level on average; (d) the death penalty with suspension is an outlet for low drug purity cases, and plays a vital role in reducing the number of death penalty with immediate execution; and, finally, (e) drug purity, weight, and various mitigating or aggravated circumstances contribute to sentencing decisions together. This article reveals how rational harsh punishment can be achieved for international society through a shift from weight-based to weight-purity-based criminal law and judicial sentencing reform.</p>