Under a law passed in 1986, 5 grams of crack would trigger a five-year prison sentence, but the same sentence would only be triggered by 500 grams of powder cocaine.  The disparity, of course, meant that more minorities went to prison than white collar whites.

As of today, the mandatory minimum will be triggered by 28 grams of crack, which translates to a disparity of 18:1.

There is a long history of racial bigotry and lies to promote social funding involved; you probably know many of the issues already.

Bogus 'studies' for decades fanned the flames of misconception and fear over the addiction rate of crack compared to snortin' coke; 'crack baby' stories abounded, and a campaign against crack brought legislative and punitive reaction completely out of line with its danger.  The concerted disinformation reminds us now of William Randolph Hurst and Reefer Madness.

Scientists recently testified to a Congressional Committee as to the truth. (pdf)

A perfect bill would have eliminated any disparity; 18% was the deal that was struck; it's a good start.  The next step will to make the law retroactive, freeing many, many Americans from prison.

Barack Obama had called on Congress to end the disparity on April 29, 2010.  Congress listened, and cut a deal.

Congratulations to all who lent a bit of sanity to the issue.  And please continue to work toward further sanity, including legalizing pot.  Just think of the savings in incarcerations, and equally importantly, the lives of entire families that have been impacted so unjustly over such hideous legal injustice.  The medical benefits to pot and tincture of THC are increasing every day, according to long-term studies.

Here are some 'drug war' prison facts; it's tough reading for those who care about criminal justice.

*Interesting fact: It was agreed before the votes were held in both the House and the Senate that there would be no roll call votes.  Yes; it seems there were plenty of Reps and Senators who didn't want to be found voting for the change right before election time.  Fancy that; congratulations to those who arranged that move.