End the Crack Sentencing Disparity

End the Crack Sentencing Disparity

There are only 8 states that still have an unfair sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses: Iowa, Arizona, Vermont, Virginia, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Missouri, and Maine.

Crack and powder cocaine are chemically identical drugs, but in these states, it takes anywhere between 2 and 28 times more powder cocaine than crack cocaine to get the same sentence. That's not fair. And even though white and Black people use crack at similar rates, most people sentenced for crack offenses are Black, making the crack disparity a driver of racial disparity. There is no good reason to treat crack and powder cocaine differently for sentencing, especially when its unfairness lands more heavily on Black communities. The crack disparity diminishes respect for the justice system, which is why most states have already eliminated their disparities.

If you live in one of these 8 states, contact your lawmakers today to encourage them to end the disparity and finally treat crack and powder cocaine equally in your state's sentencing laws.

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