Because one crime is committed more often than another, it should be punished less? Playing the race card for crimes is the goal, and these are the same people who cite “discriminatory” prosecution of blacks, due to the disparity in prison inmate composition.
I’ve never heard of someone smoking crack not being an addict. On the other hand I’ve known many people who used cocaine in the 80’s and none of them became addicted. The only relation between the two is one is made from the other, almost like pseudophedrine and crystal meth.
If you commit a crime while under the influence of one of these deadly drugs, and your lawyer tries to defend your actions because you were “impaired” Forget it, any good judge will throw your dumb arse in jail and your lawyer out of court. Taking illegal drugs is just that ILLEGAL – there are no color lines just stupidity and that ain’t Racism!
THIS is the reason they're "re-thinking" the laws. Period. It's a political decision, pure and simple.
"If I had a well-to-do family whose wife was at home snorting coke versus someone who is a mother who is out on the street using crack, the babies would look very similar," Belcher said."
That's the politically correct thing to say. But take drugs out of the picture. You can't be serious in saying that the babies of a well-to-do family and of a street mother are equally healthy, physically and mentally.
Ridiculous.
The average crack bust involves a suspect with a criminal,often violent record.The average coke bust does not.
Putting aside liberal bed-wetting “root cause” imavictimtoo psychobbable,the main purpose of the law is to remove bad guys,especially really bad guys,
from decent society.
For gooder or better—law to the letter.
Merry Christmas.
Sorry, I don't recall any names or exact details because time has made my memory of the details a little hazy and all of it was filtered through the MSM at the time so who knows how much of that was true in the first place.
IMO do not lower the sentences for crack, raise them accordingly for cocaine. Done, fixed, over with.
Crime wave coming.
There is only one reason Crack penalties are under fire: Race. It has nothing to do with anything else and anyone who tells you different is lying.
Here is what I don’t quite understand: Considering the extreme differences in sentencing, and I’m sure the dealers/users of the crack side are well aware of the disparity, why would any rational person continue to use the variant that will get them far, far more time in jail? It would seem obvious that the crack sentences would just encourage everyone to switch back to powder coke, or cook up their coke themselves, but only sell the powder. If I were a dealer, I’d sell powder and include a free kit to cook up the rock. But I’m sure that would lead to a nightly event where dope fiends run through the hood, on fire from head to toe, having incinerated themselves trying to cook rock. Maybe dealers could sell the powder, but then direct the fiends to another location where the refinement is done for free. But I’m sure all this has been thought through already.
Oh, one other big reasons crack is so popular among street dealers is it’s small size (portability) and inexpensive price (selling small but very potent shots at low prices). Coke is more difficult to carry, and costs more to get a solid high.
Rather than reduce the sentencing for Crack cocain users, why don't they just increase the sentences for Powder cocaine users?
And what about the disparity between codeine and another opiate synthesized from morphine — heroin? I guess a racial disparity argument could be made about the two opiates.
Pure cocaine is supposed to be 100% cocaine hydrochloride, but is usually cut with lactose or some other filler.
As an analytical chemist, it seems obvious to me that the drug should be assayed to determine its purity. A kilo of 50% cocaine is the equivalent of a half-kilo of pure cocaine.
The penalties should based upon the equivalent amount of pure cocaine in the perp's possession.
The US Supreme Court just dealt with this issue and said judges had the ability to sentence crack-related crimes down to the level of powder cocaine.
Drug choice is not biologically, inherently determined by race.
duh!
Except that crack-heads are more violent !
Always victims, never perps.
Both sentences may be too high. However, I am not sure I support the “Crackhead Equality Initiative”! Should JUDGES make up their own laws?