Document Type

Blog Post

Publication Date

1-23-2025

Abstract

In 1968, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act (“ADAA”) in response to the drug overdose of Len Bias, a basketball star at the University of Maryland.  The Act imposed harsh sentences for crack cocaine offenses; a person charged with possession of crack cocaine faced the same mandatory minimum prison sentence as someone charged with possession of one hundred times more powered cocaine.  For example, a person charged with carrying five grams of crack cocaine would receive the same sentence as someone carrying five hundred grams of powdered cocaine. Historically, the enforcement of drug-related crimes disproportionately targeted Black Americans, and this trend was amplified by the implementation of the ADAA and the War on Drugs. Under this policy, over 90 percent of individuals convicted and incarcerated under the enhanced sentencing guidelines were Black Americans, despite the majority of crack cocaine traffickers and about half of all crack cocaine users consisting of white Americans.  Despite multiple reforms, such as the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, there are still harsh sentences for crack cocaine offenses.  Today, possession of crack cocaine carries the same mandatory minimum sentence as possession of eighteen times that amount of powdered cocaine.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice website on January 23, 2025. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

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