Pubdate: Sat, 06 Apr 2002
Source: Tallahassee Democrat (FL)
Copyright: 2002 Tallahassee Democrat.
Contact:  http://www.tdo.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/444
Author: David A. Love, Knight Ridder Tribune
Note: David A. Love is a public interest scholar at the University of 
Pennsylvania Law School. He can be reached at  or by 
writing to Progressive Media Project, 409 East Main St., Madison, Wis. 53703.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/racial.htm (Racial Issues)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)

BUSH FAILS TO ADDRESS RACIALLY DISPARATE DRUG SENTENCING

As a black law student, I was disturbed, though not surprised, by the Bush 
administration's recent position regarding disparities in sentencing for 
powdered cocaine and crack cocaine.

Despite widespread criticism that current drug policy unfairly punishes 
blacks and Latinos by imposing harsher sentences for crack cocaine, the 
administration declared its opposition to any reduction.

Present guidelines impose a minimum prison sentence of five years for 
possessing five grams of crack, but you get the same sentence for 
possessing as much as 500 grams of the powdered form. Powdered cocaine is 
the drug of preference for whites. Minorities bear the brunt of the harsh 
sentencing because they are more likely to use crack cocaine.

This is even though the rate of drug use among people of color is similar 
to whites, according to federal health statistics. And there is no real 
difference between the two forms of cocaine.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission has noted that "powder cocaine and crack 
cocaine are two forms of the same drug, containing the same active 
ingredient," and has concluded that there is no scientific or 
pharmacological evidence to justify treating crack as 100 times more 
dangerous than powder cocaine.

The different treatment of powder and crack cocaine offenses has "clearly 
discriminatory effect on minority defendants convicted of crack offenses," 
says Ronald Weich, vice chair of the American Bar Association. Weich, a 
former assistant district attorney in New York County, declared that the 
differences represent a "major instance of the appearance of race 
discrimination in the administration of justice."

Meanwhile, the Bush position seems regressive even by conservative 
Republican standards. Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., 
have introduced legislation that would lower the sentencing ratio to 20 to 1.

By advocating racially disparate drug sentencing, the Bush administration 
is harming people of color. The prevailing sentencing guidelines are 
unfair, undemocratic and make a mockery of the notion of equal justice 
under the law.
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