Congress on wednesday changed a 25yearold law that has. Congress on wednesday changed a 25yearold law that has subjected tens of thousands of african americans to. The slowest onset of cocaines effects occurs when it is. The sentencing disparity between convictions for crack cocaine and powder cocaine is discriminatory toward africanamericans. Crack cocaine is commonly used as a recreational drug. So, the federal law still imposes a different and harsher sentence for crack cocaine possession than it does for powder cocaine possession, but the disparity is not nearly as great as under the 1986 act. Its a dirty drug that shouldnt exist, but unfortunately it does. The amount of powder cocaine necessary to trigger the sentence is still five kilos.
Support for reducing the disparity with powder cocaine offenders increased with reports beginning in 2002 by the u. Crack and cocaine also differ in the manner in which they are used. New rules slashing crack cocaine sentences go into effect. Crack cocaine, race, and the war on drugs legal definition. Cracking the racial disparity for cocaine sentencing. The bill has been assigned to the house judiciary committee, the house energy committee, and the house education and workforce. The bill does not eliminate the disparity, but dramatically reduces it. In addition, the drug is more commonly associated with systemic violence than its counterpart. Because crack and powder cocaine are two forms of the same drug, there should not be any disparity in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine offenses the only truly fair ratio is 1.
In a statement in the congressional record, breaux said he was honestly shocked to learn of the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. This dramatic sentencing disparity exists despite the fact that the drugs are pharmacologically identical. Regardless of how many people use which drug and what the penalties are for doing so, the truth of the matter is that both. Sentencing commission calling for congress to change the crack cocaine law.
Disparity, discrimination, and adverse impacts fair sentencing is individualized sentencing. Socioeconomically disadvantaged adults are more likely to use crack over powder cocaine, and are thus more likely to be subject to arrest. May 09, 2020 download 32page term paper on sentencing disparities between crack cocaine vs. The sentencing disparities between crack and cocaine attn. Powder cocaine is a white powdery substance that is abused by snorting, or by dissolving in water and injecting into a vein. Some experts believe crack is more likely to be abused because of its brief high and low. Now, the ten year sentence is triggered by 280 grams of crack instead of 50. Crack cocain has barely any similarities to its powder form other than the name and the fact its a stimulant.
Of course, there have been many attempts to alleviate the problem, such as mandatory minimums, sentencing guidelines, and complicated sentencing formulas. In 2010 congress passed the fair sentencing act, which repealed the mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession and reduced the sentencing disparity from 100. Regrettably, the majority opted instead to perpetuate these discriminatory laws by passing and reporting out h. In 2010, president obama signed the fair sentencing act, which reduced the federal penalty ratios from 100.
Under what is commonly referred to as the 100to1 cocaine sentencing disparity, it takes one hundred times as much powder cocaine as crack cocaine to trigger the federal mandatory minimums. Crack cocaine definition of crack cocaine by the free. Some 2020 democratic candidate argue that the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine, which now sits at 18 to 1, should be eliminated entirely. Clinton signs bill to disapprove of equalizing crack. The fair sentencing act reduced the disparity between united states federal criminal penalties for crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses from a 100. Federal policy is responsible for this disparity, the antidrug abuse act of 1986 and public law 10438 federal sentencing guidelines, amendment, disapproval being the most significant contributors. Crack cocaine is one of the forms of cocaine base, which is produced from powder cocaine and is smoked. Crack cocaine often nicknamed crack after the sound made during its manufacture is a lowerpurity form of freebase cocaine and contains sodium bicarbonate as impurity. In the war on drugs in the united states, race is a critical issue.
The act also changed the crack to powder cocaine ratio regarding the amount required to impose an equal sentence from 100to1 to 18to1. This disparity between crack and powder cocaine was driven by fear, instead of by research, of the intensity and perceived dangers of crack cocaine. An analysis of crack and powder penalties, march 17, 2002. With a set of mandatory minimum sentencing laws passed in 1986, congress for the first time distinguished between crack and powder cocaine. The quantity distinction has also resulted in a massive sentencing disparity by race, with african americans receiving longer sentences than the mostly white and. The figures for the 6,020 powder cocaine cases are far less skewed.
Chemically purified, very potent cocaine in pellet form that is smoked through a glass pipe and is considered highly and rapidly addictive. Regardless of changes in the federal law, a charge of. Cracking the racial disparity for cocaine sentencing center. Sentencing commissions recommendation to reduce the penalties for crack cocaine offenses from the powder crack cocaine ratio of 100 to 1, to 5 to 1. After a decade of contentious debate regarding the federal sentencing disparities between crack cocaine and powder cocaine, a number of significant initiatives to reform current. Federal crack cocaine sentencing the sentencing project. According to the us department of justice, crack cocaine is more psychologically addicting than powder cocaine, and is thus more likely to result in chronic and heavy use. Regardless of changes in the federal law, a charge of crack or powder cocaine is a very serious charge.
For example, if a person possesses five grams of crack, he or she will receive a minimum five years in prison, and if that person possesses fifty grams of crack, the sentence will be. The omnibus drug abuse act of 1988 expanded mandatory minimum penalties for drug users and sellers and established a 100to1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. Keith ellison dmn has filed hr 2153, which would make certain federal drug offenses misdemeanors and eliminate the crack powder cocaine sentencing disparity. Fair sentencing act american civil liberties union. Sentencing commission statistics show that 29 percent of all crack cases from october 1, 2008, through september 30,2009, involved a weapon, compared to. It is produced by combining coca paste and hydrochloric acid. Similarly, those carrying ten grams of crack cocaine faced a. The federal antidrug abuse act of 1986, part of the war on drugs, established a disparity between the amount of crack and powdered cocaine. The legislation also eliminates the mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack cocaine.
What is the chemical difference between crack cocaine and powder cocaine that. C 841 treats one gram of crack cocaine as equivalent to 100 grams of powder cocaine. Although statistics indicate that african americans account for only 12 percent of all illegal drug use, they make up 44 percent of all drug arrests. Holly mitchells senate bill 1010, which would reduce the sentence for possession of crack cocaine for sale from 35 years to 24 years, thus matching the penalties for powder. Another difference between crack and cocaine relates to the high produced. Sentencing commission statistics show that 29 percent of all crack cases from october 1, 2008, through september 30,2009, involved a weapon, compared to 16 percent for powder cocaine. Cocaine is a hydrochloride salt in its powdered form, while crack cocaine is derived from powdered cocaine by combining it with water and another substance, usually baking soda sodium bicarbonate. The amendments would have deleted the definition of cocaine base and in its place inserted a new definition stating, cocaine, for the purposes of this guideline, includes cocaine hydrochloride, cocaine base, and crack cocaine. Over time, numerous studies have shown that the physiological and psychotropic effects of crack and powder are the same, and they are now widely acknowledged as pharmacologically identical. The court concluded that crack is more dangerous to the user and society than powder cocaine, and, therefore, the statute was not in violation of the equal protection clause of the us constitution, and that the1. And it explicitly calls for reform of the sentencing disparity for crack and powder cocaine offenses.
The us house of representatives wednesday approved a bill, sb 1789, that addresses one of the most glaring injustices of the american drug war. Douglas berman, law professor at ohio state university, talks with michele norris about how the disparity in sentencing minimums between crack. A 2010 federal law rectified some, though not all, of the sentencing disparities. The public, and members of congress, believed that crack was more addictive and dangerous to the public due to the fast, intense high that smoking it gives. It also ignored the clinton administrations proposal to reduce the ratio to 10 to 1. A comprehensive examination of the 100to1 crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity under which distribution of just 5 grams of crack carries a minimum 5year federal prisonsentence, while distribution of 500 grams of powder cocaine carries the same 5year mandatory minimum sentence.
Powder cocaine is much more expensive than crack cocaine. Crack, which emerged in the mid1980s, had been deemed. Apr 28, 2014 senator mitchells bill will correct the groundless disparity in sentencing, probation and asset forfeiture guidelines for possession of crack cocaine for sale versus the same crime involving powder cocaine that has resulted in a pattern of racial discrimination in sentencing and incarceration in california. Crack cocaine definition and meaning collins english. After cocaine and baking soda are combined, the mixture is boiled, and a solid forms. It is a freebase form of cocaine that can be made using baking soda sodium. The difference between powder cocaine and crack cocaine. Crack is highly, highly addictive unlike normal cocain. This racial disparity has drawn the attention of policy makers, politicians, and the courts. For example, possession of just 5 grams of crack cocaine about a thimble full triggers a five year mandatory minimum sentence. Are there any possible arguments in favor of sentencing. Racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in federal sentencing today a. Basically, for sentencing purposes in the federal system, the relevant statute 21 u.
For example, in 2011 the us sentencing commission voted to. Crack and cocaine are both drugs created from the coca plant but have a different level of refinement crack cocaine often nicknamed crack after the sound made during its manufacture is a lowerpurity form of freebase cocaine and contains sodium bicarbonate as impurity. The strategy also promotes alternatives to incarceration, such drug courts, community courts and the like and for the first time hints that it recognizes the harms that can be caused by the punitive approach to drug policy. Senator mitchells bill will correct the groundless disparity in sentencing, probation and asset forfeiture guidelines for possession of crack cocaine for sale versus the same crime involving powder cocaine that has resulted in a pattern of racial discrimination in sentencing and incarceration in. Some 2020 democratic candidate argue that the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine, which now sits at 18to1. Data show racial disparity in crack sentencing us news. Its initial effect is to release a large amount of dopamine, a brain chemical inducing feelings of euphoria. Lawmakers rushed to establish the disparity and stiff sentences for crack cocaine in. The sentencing disparity between these two drug offenses is. Sentencing commission to eliminate the disparities in federal sentencing for crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses. Once its cooled and broken into smaller pieces, these pieces are sold as crack. Cocaine is typically snorted, and crack is typically smoked. But in 1986 congress defined serious traffickers as the managers of the retail. Crack and powder cocaine are equally addictive and dangerous, so there was.
Congress passes bill to reduce disparity in crack, powder cocaine sentencing. What is crack cocaine differences between crack and cocaine. Aug 03, 2010 support for reducing the disparity with powder cocaine offenders increased with reports beginning in 2002 by the u. The sentencing that a person receives for the possession of 1 gram of crack is far longer than the possession for 1 g of powder cocaine.
Why is there a sentencing disparity between possession of. Download 32page term paper on sentencing disparities between crack cocaine vs. Feb 19, 2015 socioeconomically disadvantaged adults are more likely to use crack over powder cocaine, and are thus more likely to be subject to arrest. The disparity is highly controversial and often attributed to racial and economic bias rather than the relative harm of crack versus cocaine.
Crack cocaine is a form of the drug cocaine which has been purified and made into. Crack and cocaine are both drugs created from the coca plant but have a different level of refinement. Regardless of how many people use which drug and what the penalties are for doing so, the truth of the matter is that both drugs are illegal, dangerous and highly addictive. Before the passage of the fair sentencing act in the united states in 2010, possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine, or 500 grams of powder cocaine, constituted a felony offensea 100to1 disparity. Prior to the enactment of the fsa, it took 100 times as much powder cocaine as crack cocaine to receive the same five, 10, or 20year mandatory minimum prison term. Unwarranted disparity is defined as different treatment of individual offenders who are similar in relevant ways, or similar treatment of individual. The answer to the problem presented by this wide difference in penalties is not to lower penalties for selling crack cocaine but to increase the penalties for selling powder cocaine, the. The fsa changed this socalled 100toone disparity to a disparity of 18toone. Today, states maintain sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine offenses.
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