Crack and Racism; An effort to dissolve the gap

Author: Sarah Riordan

A few weeks ago, while searching through bills I came across one that I found odd on every level.  Because I wasn’t sure how to summarize the bill, or what to say about it at all, I passed it up and read a few more.

A couple weeks later, while I was attending a speech titled “Racism in America,” the lecturer mentioned how the penalties for “crack” cocaine were higher than those for regular powder cocaine.  In her opinion, this was a clear sign of racism in America. 

To be honest, I’m not sure why the lecturer considered this a sign of racism, but it got me thinking about the bill I neglected to write about weeks before.  Oddly enough, this bill deals with exactly what the instructor mentioned; the disparity in criminal charges between crack cocaine and powder cocaine.

H.R.265 has been introduced to The House by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee. The bill basically states that crack cocaine and powder cocaine are essentially the same thing, with equally devastating effects.  Both lead to severe addiction, both lead to physiological and psychological problems and both are made of the same substance but taken differently.  Yet, the main difference is not one that deals with the actual substance, but with the consequences for using or selling that substance.

The first time I read through the bill, I had a hard time wrapping my brain around why a member of Congress would worry about the difference between crack cocaine and powder cocaine.  I did a little research into Sheila Jackson-Lee, and found that she normally sponsors bills addressing racially motivated crimes. 

The reason that some feel there is a connection between crack and powder cocaine and racism is that crack cocaine is far cheaper than powder and is most prevalent in poorer African American communities.  Powder cocaine is seen as being used by upper-class drug addicts who can afford the drug in its purist form.  Therefore, the stricter sentencing for crack is motivated by race because it was used more often in poor neighborhoods. The sentencing varies depending on the amount of drugs a person possess, but in general, it takes a lot of powder and not as much crack to get prison time. 

There is another side to this battle however.  Though the lecturer did feel the stricter sentencing was racially motivated, she also said that crack, as a cheaper buy for drug addicts, spread like wild fire. Suddenly the problem of cocaine went from being an exclusive problem, to an all inclusive one.  Though the lecturer left it at that, I wondered if perhaps police and lawmakers were overwhelmed by the growing problem, and made stricter laws to combat the suddenly growing nature of the issue.

Either way, Sheila Jackson-Lee does have a point.  Racially motivated or not, it wouldn’t hurt to make laws regarding a dangerous drug the same.  However, I would hope that instead of moving crack cocaine down to the same penalties as powder cocaine, powder will be moved up to match the penalties of crack in order to help combat this life-devastating drug.