Additional evidence is found in the difference in penalties for crack cocaine compared
with regular cocaine.
Crack cocaine is the drug of choice among minority and poor populations whereas regular cocaine is used mainly by upper-class white professionals.
Under the federal mandatory sentencing laws, possessing 5.1 grams of crack draws a federally mandated sentence of 5 years without parole whereas 5.1 grams of regular cocaine draws probation.
The U.S. sentencing commission noted that blacks make up 91.5 percent of those sentenced in 1992 under federal law for crimes involving crack.
In cases involving powdered cocaine, however, 32 percent were white, 40 percent were Hispanic, and 27 percent were black (Arizona Republic, Feb. 27, 1996, p. A5). Data from the federal bureau of prisons show that 60 percent of the federal inmates are serving time for drug crimes (Arizona Republic, Dec. 4, 1995, p. 1).