African American Drug Abuse

It a ludacris ratio, but they stuck with it and stuck it to a lot of low level users and dealers. There was an even harsher punishment for those who carried 5 grams of crack cocaine or more. A first time offender who was in possession of 5 grams of crack would be given a mandatory 5 years in prison. That means that you would be given the same amount of prison time for having 500 grams of powdered cocaine in your possession. If an individual was caught we 50 grams of crack, it would be an automatic 10 years. There has never been a class of drug in the history of the United States that has been as racially skewed in regards to the number of offenses. According to the United States Sentencing Commission, which I might add came about as a product of the Anti-Drug-Abuse Act, 79% of the 5,669 sentenced crack offenders in 2015 were African American 10% where Hispanic, and the remaining 10% were white. When you contrast that with the 6,103 cases were cocaine was the charge, the numbers are a little more spread out along the playing field: 53% Hispanic, 27% Black, 18% white. Rightfully so, someone finally took care of the injustice that was created back in 1986. In 2010, President Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act. What the Act did was it lowered the ratio of crack to cocaine from 100-1 to 18-1. That’s still a very high number for two almost identical drugs that have the same effects, has the same molecular structure, and is just as addictive. Bills are currently being presented in order to lower the sentencing ratio down to

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, drug use became a major concern for most Americans. As the War on Drugs and “Just Say No” campaign were being thrust into the spotlight by the government and media, the public became more aware of the scope of drug use and abuse in this country. The federal and states’ governments quickly responded by creating and implementing more harsh and punitive punishments for drug offenses. Most of these laws have either remained unchanged or become stricter in the years since then.

Inconsistent punishment currently issued by judges creates an increase in persons sentenced to prison. There is a moral dilemma by incarcerating a person for a non-violent crime based on the type of drug. Crack cocaine holds a much tougher sentencing guideline than powder cocaine. According to Families Against Mandatory Minimums, prior to the enactment of the Fair Sentencing Act, it took one hundred times as much powder cocaine as crack cocaine to receive the same five, ten, or twenty year mandatory minimum prison sentence. After the Fair Sentencing Act, the ratio is

This debunk the ideology of the targeting of crack for major crime organization and it was use towards imprisoning a specific racial community with punitive sentencing. Many studies soon came out in stereotyping crack cocaine as one of the most addictive drugs and created false claims that the media ran with. In 1995 the Sentencing commission challenge congress into asking for a reform of federal criminal sentencing through the matter. In 1993 there was a report by the Commission between the correlation between those who were sentenced to prison terms because of crack cocaine and in those who used the drug,”Report found that blacks accounted for 83.3 percent of federal crack cocaine convictions, Hispanics 7.1 percent and whites constituted a meager 4.1 percent.”(Percival, 124). The perception of these numbers would insinuate that African Americans tend to be the ones who either consume or distribute this drug but a Household survey showed a different perception in correlation with those who are imprisoned because of this drug, “ 52 percent of the people who reported using crack were white, 38 percent were black and 10 percent were hispanic”(Percival, 124). White people seemed to make up the more than half of the those who use it and yet are the ones who are least subjected to

1993 recorded the highest number of violent crimes in D.C. during the crack epidemic with 16,888 violent crimes recorded. It is apparent that the increased penalties and stiffer sentences for possession and distribution of crack cocaine did not result in a decrease in violent crime. Violent crime in D.C during the crack epidemic increased despite the imposition of stricter sentencing guidelines. During a subcommittee meeting on crime, terrorism, and homeland security in 2009 Judge Gohmert stated, “This sentencing disparity between powder and crack cocaine raises important public policy issues, on the one hand, because African-Americans comprise the majority of crack cocaine offenders to crack cocaine penalties that resulted in a disproportionate number of African-Americans serving longer sentences than powder cocaine offenders.”

Alexander argument is the War on Drugs was purposely started to mass incarcerate African Americans. With the new Drug War, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 was passed. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act punished crack cocaine a hundred times harder than powder cocaine. Crack and powder cocaine are the same drug, however different effects on the human body. According to the US Department of Justice, crake cocaine has a more psychological effect than powder, which leads to more people becoming addicted to the drug and heavier usage of the drug. Crack cocaine caused a great deal of violence, family deterioration, abuse, and neglect. Powder cocaine did cause abuse and violence, however powder cocaine make people want to go to the club, dance, drink, and have

For decades since the 1986 Act, those prosecuted for possession of crack cocaine were given harsher punishments than those who were caught with cocaine. Despite minimal differences between the effectiveness and formulation of either drug, crack cocaine was prosecuted at a 100:1 ratio to cocaine. Many questioned why the gap existed, but ultimately the reasoning lied with who was consuming either drug. Crack cocaine was popular in extremely urban areas, prone to house more minorities than suburban areas. Cocaine, however, was typically a more “elitist” drug consumed and

Even in laws there’s are bias towards people of color, such as example against the usage of drugs. African Americans are more likely to be arrested for drug charges than their counter part middle-class White males’, even if the drug charges offends are the same (or some cases even higher offense than black males). In addition, there even police forces that have engaged in higher usage of drugs, such as crack, yet they are not charged against the law due to their status and authority as a police officer. That is enough evidence that there are hardly any accountability in the police forces. When there are not much accountabilities and consequences, this allows a police officer to abuse their power and potentially act among injustice actions towards

Policies that target a specific racial group have been an issue that has been among us for a very long time. An example of this would be the high incarceration rates connected to cocaine sentences. This situation can be connected to the sentences that treat crack violations more harshly than those associated with powder cocaine. It is important to examine in the histories of this hostile guidelines in order to understand how they invited so much criticism, why they were so controversial, why they were so resistant to change, and how nonetheless occurred. The Federal Sentencing guidelines adopted in the United States in 1986 have been the subject of a variety of criticisms over the past twenty five years. During the 1800’s and early 1900’s, it was available and legal and commonly used in tonics and other medications. (Smith, 1986) Following this, cocaine became identified a toxic, addictive, and harmful. Consequently, the 1970’s and 1980’s saw a dramatic increase in powder cocaine used by the middle class (Chappell & Maggard, 2007). Both powder and crack cocaine have been proven to be addictive and to produce similar effects when used in large doses, which can increase the heart rate and result in strokes and even death. (Reinarman & Levine, 1997).

The jail time for possession of powder cocaine is less than that for possession of the hard, solid, rock form. At the time the law was passed, most of the rock form of cocaine was found in poor, Black communities. Powder cocaine has even coined the nickname “a White man’s drug”. Many African-Americans feel they are significantly stereotyped and racially profiled.

Drug trafficking, crack availability, and the Federal Anti-Drug Abuse Act led to mandatory minimum prison for dealers that will be sentenced. Originally, the sentencing for crack versus cocaine was “100:1” (Blumstein & Jonsson-federal sentencing reporter), meaning the amount of crack compared to the amount of powdered cocaine needed to set up a required minimum prison sentence.

The system was rocked when the crack cocaine epidemic hit. In 1981, President Reagan enforced stricter penalties for drug offenders, and the nation went from a system of care to a system of criminal justice (Friedman 394).

To begin with, in the African American culture it was unheard of to go see a therapist or counselor, when problems or issues arise beyond one's control. Not to mention, the embarrassment and disgrace to the family if someone in the family had a substance abuse problem. Nevertheless, the elders always went to church and confided in the pastor and prayer for answers and healing.

During 1939, the nylon stocking was very popular in the U.S. due to their affordable price, attractive appearance, durability and most importantly, they looked identical to the classier silk stockings. Nylon stockings became alternative to the silk stocking. The same were true for the crack cocaine in the 1970s to 1980s which became the affordable alternative to cocaine, the most expensive drug in the U.S. The crack cocaine had become so popular that it was an epidemic. The U.S. government declared the war on drugs, in attempts to eliminate the drug dealers by sending more and more of them to the prison. However this effort resulted in the reversed effect, the imprisoned drug dealers have established connections with their inmates and thus strengthening the drug business even more. The arrival of the crack epidemic has increased the gap between white and black Americans. Crack selling has devastated the entire neighborhood and affected the black people community as a whole regarding the rapidly increased rate of infant mortality, low birth weight, and parental abandonment. Furthermore, the homicide rate among young blacks has been quadrupled. Later in the 1990s, after the crack cocaine epidemic reached its peak, the crime rate began to decrease because of the powerful ripple

Cocaine is an addictive drug that comes from the coca plant. How cocaine is made and ingested are the primary differences between powdered and crack cocaine. It can be ingested in multiple ways, but inhaling and smoking are the most common. Powdered cocaine is a white substance that is snorted and absorbed through the nasal tissue. Crack cocaine is made by dissolving cocaine with an alkaline (like baking soda), then it turns into a sheet that can be crushed out into “rock” form. In 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act. Anyone caught with one gram of crack cocaine would receive the same sentence as another caught with 100 grams of powdered cocaine. Not too long after, Congress enacted a mandatory 5-year sentence for anyone caught with 50 grams of crack (500 grams of powdered) cocaine. Crack is punished this severely for many reasons, mainly being considered more dangerous, addictive, and its involvement with gangs and gun violence compared to powdered cocaine. My literature review will include how this disparity has affected people of color, the changes in the laws, and changes in the prison system.