house of wounders
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The Inequality of Government Drug Policies
"In 1970 members of Congress decided to establish different penalties for powder cocaine and for crack, a "cooked" version of powder cocaine, because they believed that there was more harm associated with crack cocaine than with powder cocaine."(FAMM) The outcome of this judgment that Congress made is that there is a 100:1 ratio between the sentencing of these two drugs. The problem with this drug policy is that crack and powder is the same drug, they are just different forms of cocaine. To have a law like this is just like banning chewing tobacco but leaving cigarettes legal, same product different forms.
The major routes of administration of cocaine are sniffing, snorting, injecting, and smoking. (NIDA) All these forms are used by those addicted to cocaine. Snorting is the form most used by powder cocaine addicts, the substance is snorted up the nostrils. Injecting cocaine is usually the method used by crack cocaine addicts, this is where the crack is heated and then injected into the blood stream. Smoking cocaine is another method used by crack addicts; this involves inhaling cocaine vapors into the lungs and has as rapid an effect as injecting the substance.
"The federal mandatory minimal for simple possession of powder is a misdemeanor punished by no more than one year in prison...