Crack cocaine is one of the forms of cocaine base, which is produced from powder cocaine and is smoked. 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. Despite comparable rates of usage, people of color are more likely to be sentenced and incarcerated for crack. Crack and cocaine may be nearly identical on a molecular level, but people who are charged with possession of just 1 gram of crack are given the same sentence as those found in possession of 18. Cocaine is a powdery, potent stimulant derived from the leaves of the south american coca plant.
With the administration doing all it could to avoid public identification with the measure, congressional advocates were only able or willing to narrow the gap between crack and powdered cocaine possession penalties from 100 to 1 down to 18 to 1, even though the presidents party had a whopping majority in the house and a much thinner margin in. Why are crack cocaine sentences longer than those for. The 1986 act implemented this differential by requiring 100 times less crack cocaine than powder cocaine to trigger five and tenyear mandatory minimum penalties. Crack cocaine is different from powder cocaine in that it is processed to make a rock crystal, then heated to produce vapors, which are smoked. The difference between crack and cocaine powder cocaine powder is derived from coca paste, which is in turn derived from the leaves of the coca plant. Powder cocaine is the most pure form of the drug, containing the most pure ingredients and derives strictly from a plant. Although cocaine is an illegal drug, the difference between its users is evident when it comes to the cost, distribution, incarceration rates, ethnicity, class and more. Cocaine is usually a fine white substance and generally comes in powder form. The legislation also eliminates the mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack cocaine. The drug causes short but intense euphoric effects. Essentially, the judge who sentenced kimbrough ignored this punitive standard.
The difference between powder cocaine and crack cocaine. Both crack and cocaine are derived from the same type of coca plant. A comprehensive examination of the 100to1 crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity under which distribution of just 5 grams of crack carries a. Whereas it is a 5year minimum sentence for trafficking 500g of powdered cocaine, the same sentence can be imposed for mere possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine, a 100. You may be surprised in the real difference between crack and. 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. It is evident that class barriers exist between powder cocaine and crack cocaine users. Socioeconomically disadvantaged adults are more likely to use crack over powder cocaine, and are thus more likely to be subject to arrest. Under the old sentencing guidelines, the penalty for possessing a gram of crack cocaine was the same as that for possessing 100 grams or about 312 ounces of powder cocaine, with a corresponding. At the time, possession of crack cocaine resulted in penalties 100 times higher than possession of an equal amount of the powdered form. This is not to say the crack cocaine is not harmful and destructive in our neighborhoods and communities. The chemical, cocainechloride comes directly from the cocabush, but when drug dealers get their hands on it they can cut or lace with other nonpsychoactive. Cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant that can be snorted, injected into the bloodstream, or it can be freebased. 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.
Crack was created as a cheaper alternative to cocaine. We wrote this paper to inform the public and congress about the disparities in the sentencing laws between crack and powder cocaine, which. Crack cocaine, also known simply as crack or rock, is a free base form of cocaine that can be smoked. The study argues that if legislation and guidelines were changed so that crack and powdered cocaine traffickers were sentenced identically for the same weight of cocaine, the blackwhite.
Crack cocaine is essentially the same substance as powdered cocaine but in a different form. Class, crack and powdered cocaine lenny vs the universe. What is the difference between crack and powder cocaine in. Crack cocaine sentences have long been much more harsh than those for powder cocaine. Cocaine the senate judiciary committee has unanimously agreed to reduce the sentencing disparity between crack and cocaine to 18. Crackpossession penalties are more severe than cocainepossession penalties, with a ratio of 18 to 1. There is no significant chemical differencecrack and powder cocaine are both forms of cocaine. The federal government sought to crack down on the problem by implementing severe prison sentences for those people caught dealing crack cocaine. Crack cocaine first hit the national radar in 1986 but, contrary to media reports, it was not a new drug. Crack cocaine and powder cocaine are the same drug, simply sold in different forms. Furthermore, cocaine hydrochloride used intranasally may be a gateway drug or behavior to using crack cocaine.
Specifically, congress directed the sentencing commission to report on the current federal structure of differing penalties for powder cocaine and crack cocaine offenses and to provide recommendations for retention or modification of these differences. 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. Some experts believe crack is more likely to be abused because of its brief high and low. The stark difference in federal sentencing laws for. They are essentially the same drug in slightly different forms. 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. 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. Crack and powder cocaine have similar pharmacological and.
To understand the problem blacks face with crack vs. A law that reflects such a high degree of discriminatory application needs to be fixed, he said after the vote. Regardless of changes in the federal law, a charge of crack or powder cocaine is a very serious charge. Cracking the racial disparity for cocaine sentencing. With a set of mandatory minimum sentencing laws passed in 1986, congress for the first time distinguished between crack and powder cocaine. There is no mandatory minimum sentence for mere possession of powder cocaine. 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. That being said, yes it is the same active chemical although ive read that there are some active pyrolysis products from crack which are. Based on these findings, the federal sentencing guidelines allowing possession of 100 times more cocaine hydrochloride than crack cocaine to trigger mandatory minimum penalties is deemed excessive. Fair sentencing act american civil liberties union. 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.
While research has indicated that the penalties for the possession of crack or use of crack cocaine are indeed more stringent than the penalties for possession or use of powder cocaine, there is no empirical evidence to suggest that this should be the case. The perception is reinforced by the penalties associated with the two drugs. Washington cnn president obama signed a bill tuesday reducing the disparity in penalties for the use of crack and powder cocaine, according to. It is a freebase form of cocaine that can be made using baking soda sodium.
Its obviously not the only factor, because we dont see a ton of dmt addicts smoking it like crack but people arent wrong to say its different than powdered cocaine. An exception to the mandatory minimum drug penalties was created by congress in 1994 for certain firsttime, nonviolent, lowlevel drug offenders. As a result of the antidrug abuse act of 1986, congress established different mandatory penalties for cocaine and crack cocaine, with significantly higher punishments for crack cocaine offenses. The difference between crack and cocaine adt healthcare. Crack, which is derived from powdered cocaine, is a rocklike form of cocaine that can be smoked to achieve a high. This imbalance means that 28 grams of crack will receive the same sentence as 500 grams of powdered cocaine. Crack cocaine is made by taking cocaine powder and cooking it with baking soda and water until it forms a hard substance. Possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine yields a 5year mandatory sentence in minimum.
Data show racial disparity in crack sentencing us news. In addition, the drug is more commonly associated with systemic violence than its counterpart. Before 1986, federal sentencing laws treated possession of crack and powder cocaine the same. Crack first saw widespread use as a recreational drug in primarily impoverished neighborhoods in new york city, philadelphia, baltimore, washington, d. 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. 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. Possessing crack cocaine a form of cocaine that is processed even further than powder cocaine, to achieve a cheaper version carries. An analysis of crack and powder penalties, march 17, 2002. These harsher penalties fall disproportionately on african americans and other people of color. In terms of addiction and relapse, both powder and crack cocaine are highly addictive, with high chances of relapse. The sentencing disparity for dealing crack and powder cocaine was 100 to 1. However, even after the fair sentencing act, the rate of incarceration for crack vs powder cocaine offences is still lopsided at 18.
Its not often that the federal government relaxes sentences for drug crimes. Now, the disparity has been reduced to a still large 18. Under federal law and the law of all states, possession of any amount of cocaine without a prescription is a crime. As a result of the antidrug abuse act of 1986, congress set forth different mandatory penalties for cocaine and crack cocaine, with significantly. Crack vs cocaine usage is influenced strongly by cost. In the 1980s, crack use created an epidemic that affected thousands of people in poor urban communities in the united states. Despite the fact that the chemical structure of powder cocaine and crack cocaine is nearly identical, the punishment for crack possession or. That year, national news outlets began reporting inflammatory anecdotes. The manual of adolescent substance abuse treatment calls it the most addictive form of cocaine. Differences based on criminal penalties criminal penalties for possession and sale of cocaine or crack are very severe.
The powder form is dissolved in water and then injected. When you think of cocaine use, do you picture a different image than when you think of crack use. Federal crack cocaine sentencing the sentencing project. For sentencing purposes, the rules equate one gram of crack cocaine to 100 grams of powdered cocaine. Before the fair sentencing act of 2010, federal criminal penalties for crack treated 1 gram of the drug as equal to 100 grams of cocaine. 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. Crack cocaine vs powder cocaine distinction in our laws is. New drug law narrows crack, powder cocaine sentencing gap.
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. The disparity started in the 1980s, when crack cocaine started to ravish urban black communities in america. Crackpowder sentencing disparity reduced by congress. This difference in street price has lead to demographic differences between people smoking crack cocaine and those injecting or snorting powdered cocaine.
724 1046 796 1399 444 1167 458 1524 1279 101 609 552 1430 1382 1152 1448 1335 1228 970 853 864 29 584 1146 902 1170 1325 803 1360 1200 1298