Researchers criticize cocaine sentencing guidelines.

Two psychologists specializing in drug addiction have released a medical report challenging disparities in federal sentencing guidelines that allow crack cocaine dealers and users to be sentenced more harshly than those caught with the powder form of the illegal drug.

Dorothy Hatsukami of the University of Minnesota and Marian Fischman of Columbia University examined research studies and articles published between 1976 and 1996 comparing the effects of crack cocaine with those of cocaine hydrochloride, the powder form of the drug. (Dorothy K. Hatsukami & Marian W. Fischman, Crack Cocaine and Cocaine Hydrochloride, Are the Differences Myth or Reality? 276 JAMA 1580 (1996).)

"The physiological and psychoactive effects of cocaine are similar regardless of the form," the researchers wrote. "Based on these findings, the federal sentencing guidelines allowing possession of 100 times more cocaine hydrochloride than crack cocaine to trigger mandatory minimum penalties is deemed excessive."

Crack cocaine is smoked, while powder cocaine is snorted intranasally or injected intravenously in an aqueous solution. Crack cocaine is made by mixing cocaine hydrochloride with an alkaline substance, such as ammonia or sodium bicarbonate, and heating it. This process creates waxy chunks, or rocks, which resemble pieces of tancolored bar soap. In crack form, the drug is typically sold for as little as $3 to $5 a rock--much cheaper than powder cocaine.

Congress passed strict sentencing guidelines in 1986 to try to stem the tide of crackrelated violence and crime that was sweeping through inner-city areas and devastating the urban poor. First-time offenders caught with 5 grams of crack received mandatory minimum prison terms of 5 years. First-time offenders possessing powder cocaine, however, would have to be caught with 500 grams of the drug--more than 10,000 doses--to obtain the same sentence.

In 1995, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which establishes guidelines for the federal courts, deemed the 100-to-1 sentencing ratio excessive and called for more flexible sentencing. Attorney General Janet Reno told Congress to reject the commission's proposal, however She advocated reducing the disparity in sentencing but not eliminating it.

Hatsukami and Fischman essentially agree with Reno's position. They favor a 2to-1 to 3-to-1 ratio instead. Their research showed that smoking crack cocaine or injecting a powder cocaine solution was more addictive than snorting it, primarily because the nose does not absorb repeated doses as effectively. The researchers also found that "cocaine hydrochloride used intranasally may be a gateway . . . to using crack cocaine" since about 75 percent to 90 percent of crack cocaine users said they snorted it before smoking it.

Jill Sellers, who chairs ATLA's Criminal Law Section, agreed that the guidelines are too harsh. "In determining whether the guidelines should be modified regarding crack and hydrochloride cocaine, the focus should be more on the empirical data and less on the stigma associated with the name crack," she said.

Hatsukami and Fischman concur with critics who contend that the federal sentencing guidelines are biased against poor minorities, leading to "22 times more convictions among African Americans than whites." Ironically, they found that "in actual numbers, fewer blacks report using crack cocaine in the past year compared with whites."

The researchers noted that the federal guidelines place significant emphasis on penalizing the sellers and possessors of crack, many of whom are also users of the drug and hooked on it to the point where the cocaine-related crime is driven by the addiction.

"Instead of using the differences between crack cocaine and cocaine hydrochloride to justify enormous differences in prison sentences for those convicted of selling cocaine, focusing on approaches that could lead to better treatment and prevention is a more constructive and ultimately more cost-effective approach to this issue," the researchers concluded.

Copies of the study are available by writing to lead researcher Dorothy Hatsukami at the University of Minnesota, Department of Psychiatry, P.O. Box 392, UMHC, Minneapolis, MN 55455.