Sentencing Disparity Between Crack & Powder Cocaine

Government officials justify the disparity in sentencing between powder cocaine and crack cocaine based on the devastating effect that the latter drug exerts at the community level. According to testimony at a recent Congressional hearing, "We believe that sound drug sentencing policy should reflect a reasoned judgment as to the relative harms to our society of each illicit substance" (U.S. Congress 63). Crack cocaine is purported to be 100 times stronger than powder cocaine. Crack, which is smoked rather than snorted, produces an intense, short-lived high. The intensity of the high creates a greater psychological dependence on crack than experienced by users of powder cocaine.

Powder cocaine can be easily converted to crack with the addition of common baking soda, once taken through a heating and cooling process. Crack can be broken down and packaged into small quantities for distri

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ocal opinion favors a particular drug preparation. In New York City, the base form of cocaine gained popularity by word-of-mouth: "Local lore, a mixture of fact and fantasy, touted base as being less harmful than the acid form. It was said to induce euphoria without unpleasant side effects" (Chaiken 3). In the fourth stage, drug dealers capitalize on the opportunity to enhance profits. In the case of crack cocaine trafficking, this is the stage where crack houses began to emerge: "Although it is unclear to what extent the original creation of crack reflected a deliberate marketing ploy by the traffickers to expand cocaine consumption, that was its effect" (Stares 33). In the fifth stage, drug usage increases sharply. In the sixth stage, drug usage becomes an epidemic, severely impacting the resources of public agencies and health systems. In the seventh stage, the media begins reporting on the drug, alerting the attention of the public. News reports about crack cocaine did not begin appearing with frequency until late 1985. By 1986, the stage had been set for current federal policy on crack cocaine sentencing. Media attention to the drug had aroused the public's fears. The public's perceptions were that the federal
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Approximate Word count = 1612
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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