I would recommend reading Glenn Greenwald's take on the new drug enforcement guidelines for dealing with medical marijuana users and suppliers. This isn't the only place where sanity is beginning to creep into federal drug policy. While Rep. Bobby Scott's Fairness In Cocaine Sentencing Act, which would eliminate the powder/crack cocaine disparity is awaiting a vote in the House, Sen. Dick Durbin -- along with Arlen Specter and Patrick Leahy -- introduced a similar bill in the Senate last Thursday.
The Obama administration has expressed vocal support for eliminating the disparity, which disproportionately affects African Americans because they are more likely to be caught with crack rather than powder cocaine. Possession of crack currently carries a much harsher sentence, although the Supreme Court decided two years ago to give judges greater discretion in sentencing. Currently, possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine yields a five-year mandatory minimum -- it takes possession of a hundred times that much to trigger the same sentence with powder cocaine. The harsher laws were originally passed because of the widespread false belief that crack cocaine was more "dangerous" than powder cocaine.
This is only a small step in dealing with mass incarceration -- which will require smarter enforcement strategies in lieu of harsher punishment. But it's an important step.
-- A. Serwer
