Alexis Porter 12/10/2009 Extra Credit

Double Standards of Cocaine In 1860, cocaine was first isolated from the coca bush; shortly after it was discovered that cocaine was a numbing agent; therefore, doctors began to use it as a local anesthetic. There was a period of time in which cocaine was used as an ingredient in soft drinks and was also used to treat certain health conditions. Cocaine comes from the erythroxylum or coca bush. The coca bush can be found in most parts of South America. Cocaine gives its users an energetic feelings, it reduces hunger, and the need for sleep. There are two different types of cocaine, powder cocaine and crack cocaine. Powder is a fine white crystalline powder, which is usually snorted by its users. Crack is a solid substance that usually looks like white rocks, and is smoked. Crack is very inexpensive to make because its fabricated by mixing powder cocaine with ammonia or baking soda. Now, in class we have discussed the double standards of cocaine. Although, we discussed double standards in terms of the different genders, the same concept applies here with cocaine sentencing. In 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. Due to this act Congress established mandatory penalties for cocaine and crack users. In my opinion, this act is a double standard. My reasons for believing such thing is that if an individual is apprehended for five grams of crack, he or she will be sentenced to five years of imprisonment. In other hands, if an individual detained for cocaine he or she must have in

possession 500 grams to get the same amount of sentence time. In other words, 1 gram of cocaine converts to about .89 gram of crack. About 82 percent of all crack users are Black, while about 28 percent Blacks use powder cocaine. Im not saying that congress is keeping the man down because no matter what the drug is illegal and should be controlled. My problem with the sentencing is that is it unfair and unequal. Cocaine no matter which way it is presented, it continues to be cocaine. During my research I found out about a few cases in that I didnt comprehend. In May of 2004, Derrick Kimbrough, a 35 year old man, who at the time of his arrest had about half a dozen non-violent misdemeanors, but had never been to jail. Kimbrough was in possession of 56 grams of crack, in addition to some cocaine and a fire arm. In an estimate calculation, he was looking to face a total of at least 19 years. The assigned judge to this case made a compromise with Kimbrough to deduct his sentence to 10 years for the drugs and another 5 years for the weapon. However, the appellate court overturned the compromised sentence because a judge cannot lower prison time based on disagreements with the crack sentencing policy. Im not saying that the difference in crack vs. cocaine sentencing is due to race, but in all means, it is unfair, unjust, and needs to be changed. In Recent news, President Barack Obama spoke about the disparities in cocaine vs. crack sentencing. For the first time ever, Congress approved an act related to the disparities in cocaine sentencing. This act is called the Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act of 2009. Activists for this act often state that the anti drug abuse act was suppose to be for major drug traffickers. However, they are not the ones who have gone under sentencing; instead it has usually been small time criminals. This has been costing

America ridiculous amounts of money; the United States sentencing Commission says that if the sentencing disparities were to be changed that it would reduce the prison population by over 13,000 in 10 years. Many people believe that crack is more addictive and hazardous to the body than cocaine; however, after 20 years they have finally learned that this is not true. In fact, both crack and cocaine have basically the same effect. The book uses the term mandatory minimum for a fixed sentence for specific crimes such as the crack and cocaine sentencing. The book also talks about Rand Corporation and how they found that mandatory minimums for drug offenders are not a good way to use the American tax dollars. In my opinion, the American Criminal Justice System needs to fix itself; its costing the tax payers their money. Crack cocaine sentencing disparities shows a crime trend of social class and race. Typically, individuals charged with crack possession tend to be poor and of the minority group, while in other hands, individuals who charged with cocaine possession tend to be wealthy and white.