Disparity Between Drug Sentences Reduced
For decades, it was a sign of unfairness at best, or racism at worst. Under a 1986 law, a person convicted of possessing five grams of crack cocaine got the same mandatory prison sentence as someone with 500 grams of powder cocaine, 100 times more. And of course, those using powder cocaine in the mid to late 1980's were often rich and/or white, and those using crack cocaine in the mid to late 1980's were often poor and/or black.