Chief among these is the racial outcome of the sentencing disparity. A person smoking crack cocaine as compared to snorting or injecting powder cocaine experiences a faster, more intense high simply because smoke in the. Crack is cheaper, so its found in low income communities more than pure powder cocaine. The punishment difference between crackcocaine and powdercocaine. Based on this difference in form, crack cocaine is smoked whereas powder cocaine is either snorted or dissolved in a liquid and injected intravenously. Despite the fact that the chemical structure of powder cocaine and crack cocaine is nearly identical, the punishment for crack possession or. What is crack cocaine differences between crack and cocaine. Working toward social justice in federal cocaine sentencing. 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. Crack cocaine and powder cocaine are sometimes referred to in research and other outlets simply as cocaine, but there is a big difference between the two. Unjustified and unreasonable overview crack cocaine became prevalent in the mid1980s and received massive media attention due in part to the death of college basketball star len bias subsequently found to have used powder cocaine on the night of his death and not crack. Crack epidemic united states history 1980s britannica.
The new law significantly reduces the cocaine sentencing quantity disparity from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1 by raising the quantity of crack cocaine necessary to trigger the five and tenyear mandatory minimum sentences first set in 1986. The difference between powder cocaine and crack cocaine. Powder cocaine is the most pure form of the drug, containing the most pure ingredients and derives strictly from a plant. Therefore, the danger associated with crack cocaine versus powder cocaine instead relates to the trade of the drug, not the drug itself. Powder and crack cocaine differ in appearance, side effects, duration of effects, demographics and incarceration rates. While a person found with five grams of crack cocaine faced a fiveyear mandatory minimum prison sentence, a person holding powder cocaine could receive the same sentence only if he or she held five hundred grams. Jan 30, 2020 this legislation enacted an astounding 100to1 disparity in crack vs.
A comprehensive examination of the 100to1 crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity under which distribution of just 5 grams of crack carries a. Under the law, possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine incurred the same minimum sentence as 500 grams of powder cocaine a 100 to 1 quantity disparity that remained in. In addition, the drug is more commonly associated with systemic violence than its counterpart. In the three decades prior to the passing of the fair sentencing act, those who were arrested for possessing crack cocaine faced much more severe penalties than those in possession of powder cocaine.
Why are crack cocaine sentences longer than those for. This briefing paper provides the background to these initiatives by surveying the. While running for president in 2007, biden went further and introduced legislation that would treat crack and powder cocaine equally, which drew support from thensen. For over 25 years, many politicians, including the late senator ted kennedy, fought to redress the imbalance between federally mandated sentences for possession of crack cocaine and the powder form of the drug. Crackpowder sentencing disparity reduced by congress huffpost. Crack cocaine, race, and the war on drugs legal definition. Crack and cocaine also differ in the manner in which they are used. The federal government sought to crack down on the problem by implementing severe prison sentences for those people caught dealing crack cocaine. While the powdered form of cocaine is simply referred to as cocaine or coke, the rock form is.
Federal crack cocaine sentencing the sentencing project. Jun 10, 2016 when you think of cocaine use, do you picture a different image than when you think of crack use. In 1995, clinton signed a bill that made the sentencing for dealing crack cocaine much longer than for dealing powdered cocaine. Jan 02, 2020 as a result of the legislation, those arrested for offenses involving crack cocaine faced much steeper punishments than those arrested for those involving powder cocaine, a disparity that has. In 2010, congress passed the fair sentencing act fsa, which reduced the sentencing disparity between offenses for crack and powder cocaine from 100. We wrote this paper to inform the public and congress about the disparities in the sentencing laws between crack and powder cocaine, which. These rocks are then broken into pieces and sold in small quantities. Bill clintons 1994 crime laws continue to haunt him on. Powder cocaine causes a rush of energy and feelings of euphoria and happiness. Definition of crack cocaine, race, and the war on drugs in the legal dictionary by free online english dictionary and encyclopedia. Joe bidens toughoncrime past could haunt him in 2020 the. Both crack and powder cocaine can lead to a host of physical, psychological and behavioral problems, including addiction.
We wrote this paper to inform the public and congress about the disparities in the sentencing laws between crack and powder cocaine, which continue to have profound legal and social. Although common consensus is that crack and cocaine punishments should be harsh, there is a point where harsh and fair do not coincide. The sentencing disparity for dealing crack and powder cocaine was 100 to 1. The sentencing disparities between crack and cocaine attn. What happens if you mix cocaine with alcohol or other drugs. Cocaine is derived from the coca plant, which is indigenous to south america. Meaning of crack cocaine, race, and the war on drugs as a legal term. What options are available to treat cocaine addiction. Both crack and cocaine are derived from the same type of coca plant. This is why lawmakers are constantly revising the penalties, criminal charges, strengths, and weaknesses of these laws. Crack and powder cocaine have similar pharmacological and physiological effects on the body, as major studies have shown us. Congress must fix racist crackpowder disparity laws. The stark difference in federal sentencing laws for possession of the two forms of the same drug has more to do with media mythology and political pressure than with public safety and health.
The process to make crack cocaine involves mixing the powder form of cocaine with some base, such as baking soda or another substance, boiling it in water, and then removing the baking soda, which removes the hydrochloride. Under current law, possession of five grams of crack triggers a mandatory minimum fiveyear prison sentence. Legislation passed in 2010 lowers that disparity to some degree, but people who are arrested with crack still face stiffer consequences than people caught with plain cocaine. New legislation would erase crackpowder cocaine disparity. There is no significant chemical differencecrack and powder cocaine are both forms of cocaine. President obama signed a new law tuesday that closes a decadesold gap in federal sentencing that led to much stiffer penalties for crack cocaine cases than ones involving powder cocaine. As a result of the legislation, those arrested for offenses involving crack cocaine faced much steeper punishments than those arrested for those involving powder cocaine, a disparity that has. Commission to lower the prison terms for offenses involving crack cocaine to make them the same as offenses involving powder cocaine. While they are both different chemical forms of cocaine, they differ in how they are made, how they are abused, their cost, dangers, effects, and more. The court stated that crack is more potent than powder cocaine because crack is smoked and inhaled, creating a more potent rush and a more powerful high than powder cocaine. Crackpowder sentencing disparity reduced by congress.
But in reality, according to experts, crack cocaine and powder cocaine. After many years of heated debate over the issue of crack vs. The same mandatory sentence applies to a person convicted of trafficking 500 grams of. Crack cocaine sentences have long been much more harsh than those for powder cocaine. The commission establishes sentencing policies and practices for the federal courts. Because of these findings the antidrug abuse act of 1986 created very stiff penalties for crack cocaine including mandatory minimum sentences for simple possession of crack cocaine. Crack epidemic, the significant increase in the use of crack cocaine, or crack, in the united states during the early 1980s. My position is that i supported the legislation to reduce the crack powder distinction because the current 100 to 1 ratio in the federal sentencing guidelines. The legislation also eliminates the mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack cocaine. Crack cocaine sentencing policy prison policy initiative. Data show racial disparity in crack sentencing us news. New drug law narrows crack, powder cocaine sentencing gap.
Therefore, it is ironic that no one became more identified with this fight than rap mogul russell simmons. The ohio court of appeals determined that crack is chemically different from powder cocaine and has a greater addictive impact on its users than powder cocaine. Another difference between crack and cocaine relates to the high produced. These include legislation introduced in congress and a series of hearings resulting in recommendations by the united states sentencing commission.
There is a 5year minimum prison penalty for a firsttime trafficking offense involving 5 grams or more of crack cocaine or 500 grams or more of. For example, the possession of 2 ounces of crack cocaine carried a 10 year mandatory minimum jail sentence compared to 179 ounces of powder cocaine for the same penalty. Jul 29, 2019 former vice president joe biden may face questions in this weeks presidential debate about his role in passing a 1986 federal law that treated crack cocaine as significantly worse than powder. The next logical steps are to make the fsa retroactive, and to eradicate completely the disparity between powder and crack. Sentencing commission decided to ease the penalties for crack on november 1, 2007.
Crack and cocaine are both drugs created from the coca plant but have a different level of refinement. Specifically, the penalty for possessing 500g of powder cocaine was comparable to possessing only 5g of crack kleiman et al. Famm supported that reform, the fair sentencing act fsa. Based largely on media perceptions and misperceptions surrounding the death of university of maryland basketball star len bias, as well as other unsupported anecdotal evidence, congress singled out crack cocaine for much harsher penalties than powder cocaine in 1986 when it enacted the first set of federal laws for cocaine offenses. The bill also repeals the fiveyear mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession of crack cocaine. Nov 03, 2011 for the application of this law invariably results in longer sentences for the small amount of crack cocaine that blacks usually possess than for a much larger amount of powder cocaine that whites usually possess black political leadership is dead, the ipinions journal, april 26, 2005. Jan 23, 2019 the former lawmaker has also begun highlighting the work he did during the obama administration to address the sentencing disparities for crack vs. Crack, which emerged in the mid1980s, had been deemed. Congress passed historic, bipartisan legislation repealing a mandatory minimum sentence for the first time since the nixon administration and reforming the infamous 100toone ratio between powder cocaine and crack cocaine. Crack cocaine is essentially the same substance as powdered cocaine but in a different form. For powder cocaine, a conviction of possession with intent to distribute carries a five year sentence for quantities of 500 grams or more.
Feb 22, 2015 we wrote this paper to inform the public and congress about the disparities in the sentencing laws between crack and powder cocaine, which continue to have profound legal and social. Crack cocaine is simply made by taking powder cocaine and cooking it with baking soda and water until it forms a hard rocky substance. What does crack cocaine, race, and the war on drugs mean in law. Because crack and powder cocaine are two forms of the same drug, there should. The 1986 law created a 100 to 1 disparity between the sentencing guidelines for crack and powder cocaine. The washington post recounts former vice president joe bidens role in passing a 1986 federal law that treated crack cocaine as significantly worse than powder cocaine and disproportionately. 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. The fair sentencing act of 2010 was an important first step in restoring sanity to our sentencing laws for crack cocaine, but theres more that needs to be done.
Despite these differences, both drugs can have devastating effects on a persons health. Unlike powder cocaine, it is usually ingested by smoking, although it can also be taken intravenously. Regardless of changes in the federal law, a charge of crack or powder cocaine is a very serious charge. Crack cocaine is not 100x more addictive than powder cocaine, nor does it get you that much higher. Furthermore, this legislation does not sacrifice our law enforcement capability. How an early biden crime bill created the sentencing. The difference between crack cocaine and powder cocaine powder cocaine is made from coca paste, which is derived from the leaves of the coca plant. Fair sentencing act american civil liberties union. But the drugs differ from each other in a variety of ways.
Appearance rather than appearing as a fine powder, it appears as a hard, grainy, and brittle substance. Aug 03, 2010 data show racial disparity in crack sentencing. Congress did a serious injustice when it imposed much tougher penalties on defendants convicted of selling the crack form of cocaine the kind most often used. It would block a move to treat powdered cocaine violations equally. Us news and world report suggests that people caught with 28 grams of crack face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years. The 100 to 1 method of sentencing crack cocaine dealers as opposed to powder cocaine dealers made dealing a single gram of crack cocaine equal to dealing 100 grams of powdered cocaine under clintons law. To understand the problem blacks face with crack vs.
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. Opponents see a bias, since most of those facing the tougher terms. Crack cocaine affects the mind faster, giving users a less likely chance to escape the drug and the harsh penalties that follow it. The antidrug abuse act of 1986 was the first federal criminal law to differentiate crack from other forms of cocaine, establishing a 100. Before 1986, federal laws treated crack and cocaine the same. Racial double standard hardwired into how we deal with drugs. As stated in the us federal court of appeals case, united states v. Crack cocaine and powder cocaine are the same drug, simply sold in different forms. Powder cocaine use is more evenly spread among ethnic backgrounds, and more white americans have tried powder cocaine than black americans. October 08, 20 criminal law and criminology 4 comments 3 min read. Sep 12, 2005 in us v villalona, the court upheld the validity of the legislatures distinction between crack and powder cocaine based on the difference in their usage and effect. The issues raised in the appeal will be discussed in future blogs as will the united states supreme courts recent decision in kimbrough v united states, 128 s. Before this law was passed, the united states had a 100to1 cracktopowder cocaine sentencing. The fair sentencing act 2010 reduced sentencing disparities to 18.
However, it seems unreasonable to think adding baking soda makes the drug 100x more illegal. With a set of mandatory minimum sentencing laws passed in 1986, congress for the first time distinguished between crack and powder cocaine. Crack is essentially powder cocaine mixed with water and baking soda which is dried into a solid mass. Although crack cocaine and powder cocaine are essentially the same drug, they have a few very important distinctions. You may be surprised in the real difference between crack and cocaine. The disparity started in the 1980s, when crack cocaine started to ravish urban black communities in america. Falsely treating crack cocaine as 50 times more addictive than powder cocaine, as congress did more than in creating the 100toone quantity ratio, has implications beyond that of mere unfair sentencing. In the mid 80s, congress passed the antidrug abuse act of 1986.
Crack cocaine was popularized because of its affordability, its immediate euphoric effect, and its high profitability. For the application of this law invariably results in longer sentences for the small amount of crack cocaine that blacks usually possess than for a much larger amount of powder cocaine that whites usually possess black political leadership is dead, the ipinions journal, april 26, 2005. 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 court stated that crack is chemically different from powder cocaine. In unfair system, millions of blacks have been arrested, while compassion was urged for whites. Cocaine is typically snorted, and crack is typically smoked. Hispanics and whites make up the majority of crack cocaine users, but the majority of those convicted under crack cocaine offenses are african americans. Most disturbingly, because the majority of people arrested for crack offenses are african american. Crack cocaine is one of the forms of cocaine base, which is produced from powder cocaine and is smoked. 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 cracks in the system.
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