![]() powder cocaine sentencing and a mandatory minimum sentence for first-time non-violent possession of crack cocaine. This legislation enacted an astounding 100-to-1 disparity in crack vs. ![]() Unfortunately, the stereotypes about crack cocaine and the dangers associated with it were reflected in the major legislation that shaped the War on Drugs, the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act and the 1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Act. The surging hysteria surrounding crack cocaine, coupled with the initiation of the official War on Drugs, intensified public perception that our social problems were caused by black Americans using and abusing crack, concluding that locking up these so-called “crackheads” was the solution to our problems. The vast majority of news stories that focused on crack cocaine linked the drug to black Americans and impoverished inner-city neighborhoods, as opposed to white wealthy Americans and suburban neighborhoods. These images substantiated “the war”, leading the public to believe the drug problem was of epidemic proportion and harsh punishments were needed to regain “law and order.” Magazines such as Newsweek and Time released sensational stories about crack cocaine and declared crack to be the “ issue of the year” in 1986. Over and over again, we saw images on TV and in newspapers of poor black Americans from inner city neighborhoods being arrested for crack cocaine use. Throughout the 1980s stereotypes about crack, and who was using crack, flourished and were heavily propagated. The stereotypes about crack cocaine and the dangers associated with it were reflected in the major legislation that shaped the War on Drugs. In order to achieve fairness and racial justice in the United States, revision to the federal cocaine sentencing guidelines must remain a top priority. The federal cocaine sentencing guidelines that were originally enacted in the 1980s were racially and economically biased and rooted in scientific inaccuracies. This focus on opiates has overshadowed discussions of other important aspects of the War on Drugs, including federal cocaine sentencing policies. The recent shift in focus to the opiate epidemic, as rates of opiate overdose deaths have increased-has done more to highlight these racial disparities and the way that elected officials have chosen to approach the problem. In reality this war has had a devastating impact on communities of color that remain the principle targets of oppressive drug laws and harsh sentencing guidelines. For nearly four decades the United States has been fighting a War on Drugs, with the expressed intention of eliminating illegal drug use in America. The vacillation among politicians on both sides of the isle is nothing new. ![]()
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