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The Anti-Drug Abuse Act Of 1986

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The Anti-Drug Abuse Act Of 1986
One of the contributing factors of why blacks are more than likely to be sentenced a harsher sentence than whites is because of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 by President Ronald Regan on October 27, 1986. The act mandated a minimum five year sentence without a possibility of parole if the offender was in possession of five or more grams of crack and if in possession of five hundred grams of powder cocaine. Many supporters of the act argued that that crack offenders needed harsher sentences because the drug was highly addictive and is more associated with violent crimes (United States Sentencing Commission, 2010). This act was extremely troublesome for African Americans because eighty-five percent of crack offenders are African American while
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