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End Racially Biased Drug Laws

Target: U.S. Senate
Sponsored by: Drug Policy Alliance

Momentum to correct a terrible injustice from the Reagan years is building in the U.S. Senate. You can help eliminate a racially biased abuse of our criminal justice system that has been devastating communities across the country for 20 years.

While it takes just five grams of crack cocaine -- about two sugar packets worth -- to receive a five-year mandatory-minimum federal prison sentence, it would take 500 grams of powder cocaine to receive the same sentence. Not only does this disparity create enormous racial inequities in the federal criminal justice system because people of color are disproportionately convicted of crack cocaine offenses, it gives federal law enforcement agencies the incentive to waste taxpayer resources on low-level, nonviolent offenders (generally individuals struggling with addiction) instead of disrupting organized crime.

There is a bill pending right now in the U.S. Senate that would eliminate the crack/powder sentencing disparity, increase funding for drug treatment, and focus federal law enforcement resources on major traffickers instead of simple drug law violators. This bill is called the Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act (S. 1711).

Sign the petition today to urge your senators to support S. 1711 to end the sentencing disparity.

deadline: Ongoing...
goal: 5,000

5,959
signatures!

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Dear Senator,

I am writing to urge you to support S. 1711, The Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act.

While it takes just five grams of crack cocaine (about two sugar packets worth) to receive a five-year mandatory minimum federal sentence, it
takes 500 grams of powder cocaine to receive the same sentence. 50 grams of crack cocaine triggers a ten-year sentence, but it takes 5,000 grams of powder cocaine - 5 kilos - to receive that much jail time.

Even though 66% of crack users are white, blacks make up more than 80% of federal defendants sentenced for crack cocaine offenses. No other federal law is more responsible for gross racial disparities in the federal criminal justice system.

And although the crack mandatory minimums were enacted to punish major traffickers, the vast majority of people subjected to them are low-level offenders. A recent report by the U.S. Sentencing Commission found that almost 70% of federal crack cocaine defendants had only low-level involvement in drug activity.

We signed the “End Racially Biased Drug Laws” petition!

# 5,960:

11:43 pm PST, Nov 30, Yvonne Hunter, Virginia
i feel the federal justice system should help drug dealers instead of locking them away for years and years. jail can't help noone.

# 5,959:

1:06 pm PST, Nov 29, Name not displayed, Ohio

# 5,958:

9:56 am PST, Nov 23, NURCIHAN RODRIGUEZ, Florida
I'm supporting the drug Sentencing Reform and cocain traffficking act.I wish we can all do better law to save our children.For instance we can decide if they can put for rehabilitasion. Tahank you everyone who works for this cause.

# 5,957:

9:52 am PST, Nov 21, Chrstal Bates, Virginia

# 5,956:

11:34 pm PST, Nov 19, Christopher Rodriguez, Illinois

# 5,955:

12:52 pm PST, Nov 17, Joyce Maxie, Florida

# 5,954:

6:51 am PST, Nov 14, Hilary Maggio, Pennsylvania

# 5,953:

2:55 pm PST, Nov 9, April Means, California

# 5,952:

4:56 pm PST, Nov 7, Catina Webb, Virginia

# 5,951:

9:28 pm PDT, Oct 19, Marvin Gentz, California

# 5,950:

10:17 am PDT, Oct 18, Name not displayed, Florida
Please support the dryg sentencing reform.

# 5,949:

12:22 pm PDT, Oct 10, Maria Muth, Pennsylvania

# 5,948:

5:31 am PDT, Oct 8, Caroline Williams, Pennsylvania

# 5,947:

7:17 pm PDT, Oct 2, Travis Linnemann, Kansas

# 5,946:

9:42 pm PDT, Sep 28, Carmen Reinhardt, Washington

# 5,945:

1:17 am PDT, Sep 28, Patty Miller, Kentucky
The unfair sentencing in these laws hurt not only the people who are sentenced and their families but also to every tax paying citizen too. Even if you do not have compassion for those who suffer from these unjust laws, you should still consider the money that is taken out of your own paychecks to support them. In every way imaginable, these laws hurt everybody. Nothing is gained and much is lost.

# 5,944:

7:44 pm PDT, Sep 25, James Recktenwald, Kentucky
Please end this new form of Jim Crowe disenfranchisement, now.

# 5,943:

6:24 pm PDT, Sep 25, STACY MOORE, California

# 5,942:

5:51 pm PDT, Sep 24, Natasha Johnson, North Carolina

# 5,941:

5:15 pm PDT, Sep 24, Gale Muhammad, New Jersey
Women Who Never Give Up,Inc Gale Muhammad President /Founder WWNG is dedicated to helping families get justice in our criminal justic and prison systems... The Law's are unjust and causes great harm to families and those who suffer from these unjust laws due to imprisoment. WWNG will be there this spring...

# 5,940:

3:25 pm PDT, Sep 24, April Smith, Virginia

# 5,939:

2:19 pm PDT, Sep 24, Amber Kelly, Florida

# 5,938:

1:49 pm PDT, Sep 24, Tammi Arford, Massachusetts

# 5,937:

9:02 pm PDT, Sep 22, Name not displayed, Washington

# 5,936:

10:59 am PDT, Sep 8, Amber Gonzales, Texas

# 5,935:

7:51 am PDT, Sep 8, Name not displayed, Ohio

# 5,934:

5:33 pm PDT, Sep 4, Ruel Reynolds, North Carolina

# 5,933:

2:01 pm PDT, Aug 30, Laura Markle Downton, New Jersey

# 5,932:

4:40 pm PDT, Aug 27, Name not displayed, Virginia
I would like to add the fact the the conspiracy charge which leads these young people to their life in jail is totally unfair. When you can not defend something and you are assumed guilty until you prove you are innocent anyone could and are being place in jail for something that you didn't do. I will give you the story of TySon Pearson a person that is innocent, whom was unable to defend/prove that he didn't do what he was charged with (conspriacy) and told by his own lawyer there really was no defense aganist the charge and the best he could do was plead guilty and he might be out of jail before his baby went to school. Plead guilty and the judge wanted to know why because there was no evidence and the police said he and his friends were under investigation and they had nothin, why are you pleading guilty. His response was his lawyer informed me that I could not win and I would get more time if I didnt plead guilty now. The judge gave my baby 210 months 17.5 years. please someone do something. help me to do something.

# 5,931:

6:34 pm PDT, Jul 22, Emmy Garcia, Florida

# 5,930:

11:46 pm PDT, Jul 21, Name not displayed, Indiana

# 5,929:

1:35 pm PDT, Jul 21, Shelagh Cole, Washington D.C.

# 5,928:

10:14 am PDT, Jul 20, VIDA TOBI KANTER, New York

# 5,927:

4:14 pm PDT, Jul 19, Elizabeth McCord, Missouri
I am asking you to look within your heart and see if you truly feel that this type of discrepancy is at all in keeping with a Christian frame of reference; I am sure that you know at the core of your being that it is not. Thank you for your public service-

# 5,926:

5:58 am PDT, Jul 19, John DesJardins, Virginia
Fairness in laws and sentencing is one of the fundamental rights on which our country was founded. I urge you to take actions to correct this discrepancy based discriminatory laws.

# 5,925:

7:36 pm PDT, Jul 15, RICHANA NIEVES, Florida

# 5,924:

7:33 pm PDT, Jul 15, Melinda Rankins, Iowa

# 5,923:

12:14 pm PDT, Jul 14, Tamyia Lott, New York
I have two children that are without there father because he was sentenced to twenty years for selling cocaine. He is a wonderful person that was trying to look for a fast way to support his family. I think that the judge should look at the family history of the alleged criminal instead of the criminal history. My son will grow up without a father and hopefully he wont follow in his foot steps because of lack of positive influence. Please please help me make a difference so that it wont keep repeating itself

# 5,922:

6:42 am PDT, Jul 14, T Chambers, Kentucky

# 5,921:

6:33 pm PDT, Jul 13, Rebecca Brown, New York

# 5,920:

10:50 am PDT, Jul 13, LaDarrin Thornton, Texas

# 5,919:

12:13 am PDT, Jul 9, Lily Jenkins, Louisiana

# 5,918:

9:58 am PDT, Jul 7, Aimee Castenell, Georgia

# 5,917:

10:46 pm PDT, Jul 6, Agron Gjini, Connecticut

# 5,916:

9:13 pm PDT, Jul 5, Yadira Pagan, Florida

# 5,915:

3:17 pm PDT, Jul 1, Angela Johnson, Virginia

# 5,914:

9:15 am PDT, Jul 1, Michael Linares, California

# 5,913:

6:37 pm PDT, Jun 30, Jessica Sawyer, Louisiana

# 5,912:

5:52 pm PDT, Jun 30, Marian Broomall, Florida
my friend never sold drugs :but was at the wrong place at the wrong time and pass some money over to a inforement not knowing that the money was for drugs he got the 5 year federal sentence. he worked hard every day.

# 5,911:

2:22 pm PDT, Jun 30, Danielle Stephens, Texas

# 5,910:

9:55 pm PDT, Jun 28, Shannon Sparks, Ohio

# 5,909:

5:03 pm PDT, Jun 28, Tara Deacon, Canada

# 5,908:

1:55 pm PDT, Jun 27, Odette Rickert, Hawaii

# 5,907:

3:30 pm PDT, Jun 25, Lorraine Thompson, New York

# 5,906:

12:19 pm PDT, Jun 25, Mythea Lacy, Arizona

# 5,905:

9:00 am PDT, Jun 25, Brenda Patterson, North Carolina
This is an outrage.....Black people it is time to march...If you have a uncle, nephew, son, grandson, grandfather, This can happen to you.

# 5,904:

5:07 am PDT, Jun 25, Name not displayed, Illinois

# 5,903:

7:24 pm PDT, Jun 24, Shannon Cowett, Virginia

# 5,902:

3:44 pm PDT, Jun 24, Ned Overton, New York

# 5,901:

12:20 pm PDT, Jun 24, Nicole Marshall, California

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