Momentum is building in Congress to eliminate the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity that treats crack offenses one hundred times more severely than powder cocaine offenses. This disparity, enacted in the 1980s at the height of drug war hysteria, was based largely on the myth that crack cocaine was more dangerous than powder cocaine and that it was instantly addictive and caused violent behavior. Since then, copious amounts of scientific evidence and an analysis by the U.S. Sentencing Commission have shown that these assertions were not supported by sound data and were exaggerated or outright false.

Regardless of why the disparity was enacted, its impact is clear: tremendous racial disparities in the criminal justice system, wasted tax dollars, and a less safe America.The solution is clear: Completely eliminate the disparity. Raise the amounts of crack cocaine it takes to trigger long sentences to equal those of powder cocaine, and reprioritize federal drug war agencies towards violent drug cartels.

Read  Up on This Issue

• The Basics on the Disparity
  
• Current Legislative Proposals
  
• Media Coverage
  • 5 Myths About That Demon Crack (Washington Post)
  • Craig Reinarman: Five Myths About Crack Cocaine (Sacramento Bee)
  • Major Blow Struck Against U.S. Crack Sentencing Rules (AlterNet)
    
• The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s latest report on the subject

Submit a Letter to the Editor of Your Local Paper

Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper urging your member of Congress to eliminate the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity.  After you submit the letter, send a copy of the letter to your members of Congress, along with a personal note.  This is a good way to show your elected officials that you not only care enough to write a letter to them, but you also care enough to write a letter to the local newspaper.

Tips on writing a good letter to the editor here and here.

Look up contact info for your local papers here.

Below are some talking points you could use when writing a letter to the editor:

Congress should eliminate the racist crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity that punishes crack offenses 100 times more severely than powder cocaine offenses.

While it takes just five grams of crack cocaine (about two sugar packets worth) to receive a five-year mandatory minimum sentence, it takes 500 grams of powder cocaine to receive the same sentence.

Even though 66% of crack users are white, blacks make up more than 80% of federal defendants sentenced for crack cocaine offenses. No other federal law is more responsible for gross racial disparities in the federal criminal justice system.

Although the crack mandatory minimums were enacted to punish major traffickers, the vast majority of people subjected to them are low-level offenders. A recent report by the U.S. Sentencing Commission found that almost 70% of federal crack cocaine defendants had only low-level involvement in drug activity.

Write, Call and Meet with Your Members of Congress

We've compiled some tips on how to get in contact and stay in touch with your member of Congress. Knowing the "do's and don'ts" of lobbying can increase the effectiveness of your message. Find out more here.