Thursday, July 29, 2010
"Today, the House passed legislation reducing the two-decades-old sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses. The Senate passed an identical bill in March and the legislation is now heading to President Obama, who supports the reform effort. This is a historic day, with House Republicans and Democrats in agreement that U.S. drug laws are too harsh and must be reformed."
Congress Passes Historic Legislation to Reduce Crack/Powder Cocaine Sentencing Disparity (via tedr via mikehudack)
The compromise also eliminated the five year mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession of five grams of cocaine (about two sugar packets worth). The repeal of that mandatory minimum is the first repeal of a mandatory minimum drug sentence since the 1970s.
