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Crack cocaine. The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111–220 (text)) was an Act of Congress that was signed into federal law by United States President Barack Obama on August 3, 2010, that reduces the disparity between the amount of crack cocaine and powder cocaine needed to trigger certain federal criminal penalties from a 100:1 weight ratio to an 18:1 weight ratio [1] and eliminated the ...
On the other hand, possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine carries the same sentence. [16] [17] In 2010, the Fair Sentencing Act cut the sentencing disparity to 18:1. [19] In 2012, 88% of imprisonments from crack cocaine were African American. Further, the data shows the discrepancy between lengths of sentences of crack cocaine and heroin.
According to the United States Sentencing Commission, in 2020, 77% of individuals convicted of crack cocaine offenses were Black, while historically 66% of crack cocaine users have been white or ...
However, the Act imposed a 100-to-1 ratio for powder to crack cocaine. The same five-year mandatory minimum sentence applies to defendants who are held responsible for either 500 grams of powder cocaine or 5 grams of crack. The ten-year mandatory minimum applied to defendants responsible for either 5000 grams of powder cocaine or 50 grams of crack.
The top White House drug policy official testified that the disparities have "caused significant harm for decades, particularly for individuals, families and communities of color."
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This act mandated a minimum sentence of 5 years without parole for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine while it mandated the same for possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine. This 100:1 disparity was reduced to 18:1, when crack was increased to 28 grams (1 ounce) by the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. [citation needed]
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 established a 100-1 sentencing disparity for the possession of crack or powder cocaine. Possession of 500 g of powder cocaine triggered a five-year mandatory minimum sentence, but it took possession of 5 g of crack cocaine to trigger the same mandatory minimum penalty. [76]