The Crack-Cocaine Sentencing Disparity

The Black Lives Matter movement has forced people around the world to become more aware of ways that systemic racism affects minority communities and, in particular, the Black communities. For example, U.S. government data¹ shows that among COVID-19 cases with known ethnicity, 55% of people are either Hispanic or Black. And while there is still uncertainty in the method of data collection for COVID-19, these numbers demonstrate one consequence of the social and economic disadvantages minority communities face due to institutional barriers².

Yet Black people have been unfairly targeted by U.S. policies for many years. Since Nixon began the War on Drugs in 1971, the U.S. has wrongly tackled health issues with criminalisation. Whether intentional or not, the strategy has been the cause of unjust incarceration and oppression of Black communities that continues today. One specific example that shows the effects of this misguided strategy is the case of crack cocaine.

The introduction of crack cocaine

In the 1970s and 80s, crack cocaine was introduced to America. A massive increase of cocaine entering the U.S. caused prices to drop dramatically³. Crack cocaine was a much more profitable alternative created from powder cocaine. It’s unclear who invented crack cocaine, but it certainly has a troubled history⁴.

A concerning rise in crack use (and abuse) led to declaring a crack cocaine epidemic and the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. This made crack cocaine illegal and created the same penalties for possession or trafficking of 5g of crack cocaine as for 500g of cocaine powder, a 5-year mandatory minimum sentence^{5 6}. A 100:1 difference in weight, for the same amount of time in jail. As a result of this crack vs. powder cocaine sentencing disparity, low-level crack dealers received more severe punishments than whole-sale cocaine dealers⁷.

What is crack cocaine?

Crack cocaine is classified as a stimulant, the same as powdered cocaine. Baking soda is mixed with cocaine powder and allowed to crystallise⁸. The resulting crack ‘rocks’ are smoked, rather than snorted, typically using a glass hand pipe or water pipe, and commonly mixed with heroin, marijuana or other drugs⁹. So why is it called “crack cocaine”? The name comes from the crackling sound that the rocks make when smoked. Even though crack contains the same substance as snorted powder cocaine, smoking crack results in higher levels of cocaine in the blood more rapidly and for a shorter period of time^{7 10}, which makes crack more potent and addictive.

The crack-cocaine sentencing disparity

Because of the relatively cheap price of crack, this form of the drug was more concentrated in minority communities and urban areas. Crack users were more likely to be Black, “less” educated, and have lower income¹¹. But when looking at powdered cocaine Black people represented a similar, if not smaller, percentage of offences to white people6. The vast majority of crack cocaine offenses were dealt to Black people, and by 1989 a quarter of Black males aged 20-29 were incarcerated or on probation³, a dire consequence of the sentencing disparity. It took decades – until 2010 – for politicians to finally change the ratio to 18:1 with the Fair Sentencing Act¹². But, even then, is the ratio justified? Studies have indeed shown that there is a higher risk of dependence, but this is only 2-4 times higher compared to powdered cocaine^13,14,15. Still far below 18, let alone 100….

Recognising this disparity highlights new problems in the drug policy anyway; injecting powder cocaine produces similar effects to smoking crack cocaine. Intravenous cocaine users have been found to become dependent on the drug at levels similar to, and even higher, than all other routes of administration⁷. Yet, even if it’s difficult to separate the form of drug from its typically used route(s) of administration, none of this is reflected in the laws.

Danger to society?

One other factor that needs to be accounted for is the damage to society that each form of the drug is causing. Much of the fear associated with crack (and to a degree with powder cocaine) is crime and violence. However, the majority of drug crimes (almost ¾) are associated with systemic violence – crime within the black market drug trade. Most crime arising from drug-taking is due to alcohol, not crack cocaine¹⁵. Besides, any difference in violent behaviours between crack users vs. powdered cocaine users disappears once sociodemographic factors – race, education, income, mood disorders - are taken into account¹¹.

In other words, most of the perceived higher prevalence of crime related to crack is not due to the drug itself, but due to the same socioeconomic factors that underlie the racial disparity between use of crack and powder cocaine in the first place. To read more on this and other crack cocaine myths, check this reference.¹⁶

Best Practices for Reducing Harm

Although there is only one way you can prevent any short- or long-term damage from using crack-cocaine - that is, to stop using the drug altogether - there are a few ways to keep yourself a little safer. If you follow these practices, you can at least avoid further harm to your body and mind. These will also restrict the spread of infectious diseases between yourself and others.

• Use crack pipes made from Pyrex or borosilicate. These will not break as easily due to heat, which will prevent cuts on your lips or other body parts. This reduces the risk of infections, such as HIV or HCV. For the same reason, do not use broken glass pipes^{18 19}. Similarly, do NOT use plastic bottles or cans¹⁹.
• Avoid sharing equipment. If you do, use your personal mouthpiece. Make sure to clean the pipe and mouthpiece in between turns, for example using alcohol swabs¹⁹.
• Use steel or brass metal filters. Do NOT use filters made of copper or steel wool, such as brillo pads. They often contain harmful detergents and break off easily, after which they are either inhaled or can become lodged in your body. To properly place filters in the pipe, use sticks (i.e. chopsticks). Replace the filters regularly^{17 18}.
• Use uncoated aluminium if you use foil to consume crack. You can find this at a needle exchange near you. Otherwise, burn your foil before using to smoke the crack. Use new foil for every use²⁸.
• Do NOT mix with other drugs, including alcohol²⁰.
• Most importantly, call an ambulance if your or a friend do not feel well or have overdosed.

Developing adequate drug policy is certainly not easy, especially considering the time pressure during drug scares. Nevertheless, U.S. policies still have a lot of ground to cover until they can be considered evidence-based. For crack vs. powder cocaine, a ratio of 4:1, at most, can be justified in the laws, based on the relative risks.

Lasting effects of drug policies

Even though we have seen improvements in the government’s policies on drug use, the regulations are still rooted in biased viewpoints rather than science and a healthcare perspective. Moreover, the consequences of the U.S. policies are still real today. Looking at today’s COVID-19 pandemic, for example, shows that jails and prisons are experiencing high rates of infections; these are facilities that contain a disproportionate population of Black people as a result of decades of criminalisation of already disadvantaged communities²¹. The image that the War on Drugs has painted of Black people is still afflicting lives today, such as when the “drug fiend” defence is used to absolve police brutality²².

Let’s use this time to educate ourselves. The Black Lives Matter²³ movement officially started in 2013 following the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Before it was founded and ever since, there have been countless murders of Black people by police, continued systemic prejudice and discrimination on a day-to-day basis. You may not think you’re racist, but each one of us has had prejudiced thoughts and behaviours that we can begin to dismantle. This may begin internally by paying attention to your views or thoughts that are discriminatory. It should also include educating ourselves on Black history and White supremacy (for book recommendations, see below). Perhaps most importantly, let’s listen to each other and do our best to understand one another’s perspectives.

A few books to begin with:

• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness²⁴
• So you want to talk about race²⁵
• White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism²⁶
• Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present²⁷
• How To Be Antiracist²⁸

References

¹ CDC 2020. Coronavirus Disease 2019 Case Surveillance — United States, January 22–May 30, 2020. CDC. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022

² Godoy M, Wood D. (2020). What Do Coronavirus Racial Disparities Look Like State By State? NPR. Accessed: 23 Jun 2020.

³ Foundation for a Drug-Free World (2019). The Crack Epidemic - The History of Crack Cocaine. Foundation for a Drug-Free World. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

⁴ Turner DS. (2016). Crack Epidemic.. Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

⁵ Criminal Justice Policy Foundation. Mandatory Minimums and Sentencing Reform. Criminal Justice Policy Foundation. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

⁶ Congress.gov (1986). [H.R.5484 - 99th Congress (1985-1986): Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986] (https://www.congress.gov/bill/99th-congress/house-bill/5484). Congress.gov. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

⁷ Hatsukami, D.K. and Fischman, M.W. (1996). Crack cocaine and cocaine hydrochloride: Are the differences myth or reality?. Jama, 276(19), pp.1580-1588.

⁸ Drug Policy Alliance (2021). 10 facts about cocaine. Drug policy alliance. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

⁹ Cesar (2013). Cesar. Cesar. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

¹⁰ Fowler, J.S., Volkow, N.D., Wang, G.J., Gatley, S.J. and Logan, J., 2001. Cocaine: PET studies of cocaine pharmacokinetics, dopamine transporter availability and dopamine transporter occupancy. Nuclear medicine and biology, 28(5), pp.561-572.

¹¹ Vaughn, M.G., Fu, Q., Perron, B.E., Bohnert, A.S. and Howard, M.O. (2010). Is crack cocaine use associated with greater violence than powdered cocaine use? Results from a national sample. The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 36(4), pp.181-186.

¹² Reuter, P. (2013). Why has US drug policy changed so little over 30 years? Crime and Justice, 42(1), pp.75-140.

¹³ Chen, C.Y. and Anthony, J.C. (2004). Epidemiological estimates of risk in the process of becoming dependent upon cocaine: cocaine hydrochloride powder versus crack cocaine. Psychopharmacology, 172(1), pp.78-86.

¹⁴ Reboussin, B.A. and Anthony, J.C., 2006. Is there epidemiological evidence to support the idea that a cocaine dependence syndrome emerges soon after onset of cocaine use? Neuropsychopharmacology, 31(9), pp.2055-2064.

¹⁵ Haasen, C., Prinzleve, M., Gossop, M., Fischer, G., Casas, M. and COCAINEEU-TEAM, T.H.E. (2005). Relationship between cocaine use and mental health problems in a sample of European cocaine powder or crack users. World Psychiatry, 4(3), p.173.

¹⁶ Gershon, Livia (2018). Rereading the Story of the Crack Epidemic. Daily. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

¹⁷ Boyd, S., Johnson, J.L. and Moffat, B. (2008). Opportunities to learn and barriers to change: crack cocaine use in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. Harm Reduction Journal, 5(1), pp.1-12.

¹⁸ Small, D. and Drucker, E. (2008). Return to Galileo? The inquisition of the international narcotic control board. Harm Reduction Journal, 5(1), pp.1-6.

¹⁹ The HRB National Drugs Library (2018). Pipe smokers do's and don'ts. Drugsandalcohol.ie. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

²⁰ CATIE (2011). Safer crack smoking. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

²¹ Sandoiu A. (2020) 'We don't have a health system:' Expert on prisons, race, and COVID-19. Medical News Today. MediLexicon International. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

²² Daly M. (2020). How the War on Drugs Enables Police Brutality Against Black People. Vice. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

²³ Black Lives Matter (2020). Black Lives Matter. Black Lives Matter. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

²⁴ Alexander, Michelle (2010). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The new Jim Crow. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

²⁵ Oluo, Ijeoma (2019), So You Want Talk About Race. Amazon. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

²⁶ DiAngelo, Robin (2021). Robin DiAngelo. Robin DiAngelo. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

²⁷ Washington, Harriet A. (2008). Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present. Amazon. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.

²⁸ Dr. Ibram X. Kendi (2021). How to be an antiracist. Ibram X. Kendi. Accessed: 09 Jan 2022.