Bill Would Make Powder Cocaine, Crack Penalties the Same

A bill introduced in Congress on Thursday has its eye on changing sentencing rules for powdered and crack cocaine.

U.S. Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., said he wants to change the disparity in sentencing between crack and powdered cocaine, increase the quantity of crack cocaine that would spark a mandatory prison term and heavily target large-scale drug traffickers and violent criminals.

Five grams of crack cocaine -- two sugar cubes' worth -- requires a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in jail. That's the same penalty as trafficking 500 grams (or one pound) of powder cocaine.

The Fair Sentencing Act would seek to eliminate what the U.S. Sentencing Commission and civil-rights advocates say is a large gap in incarceration rates between African Americans and whites. Only 25% of crack users are African American but they accounted for 81% of crack convictions in 2007. Advocates hope to reduce the record level of Americans in prison, as well as take into account current research that says crack and powdered cocaine are little different in terms of physiological effects. Durbin said there's also little difference between crack and powder cocaine in terms of violence involved.

"Drug use is a serious problem in America and we need tough legislation to combat it. But in addition to being tough, our drug laws must be smart and fair. Our current cocaine laws are not," Durbin said in a statement. "The sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine has contributed to the imprisonment of African Americans at six times the rate of whites and to the United States' position a the world's leader in incarcerations. Congress has talked about addressing this injustice for long enough; it's time to act."

The Washington Post said that a change in the law has been sought since 1986, at the height of the crack cocaine epidemic.

The bill has the support of the Obama administration as well as nine other senators, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Crime and Drugs Subcommittee Chairman Arlen Specter (D-Pa.). A similar bill is going through the U.S. House of Representatives.