Buying 3 grams of cocaine in D.C. is a misdemeanor?

[SHRED]

Really?


ON EDIT:
Don't get me wrong. I want the war on drugs over.

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

1. I don't know, perhaps someone can tell us,

what is the usual penalty for a 3 gram rock in DC?

[SHRED]

2. This is in reference to Trey Radel (R-Fla.) of course

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

7. Yeah, I get that.

I was just thinking of his lenient sentence. A white boy Republican politician with 3 grams of powder versus a person of color with a 3 gram rock. Them scales usually don't balance.

[ScreamingMeemie]

3. .

Simple possession of a controlled substance in D.C. is a misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty for a first conviction of 180 days on incarceration and a $1000 fine. The maximum penalty for a second or subsequent conviction would be double that.

If this is the first drug conviction for the defendant either in D.C. or anywhere else in the United States, the court can put the defendant on probation for up to a year and defer an adjudication of guilt. If the defendant successfully completes the probationary period, the court can dismiss the case, and the defendant can have the arrest completely expunged from his/her record. The court can also dismiss the case early, before the expiration of the probationary period, if the person seems to be complying with the terms of probation. If, however, the defendant violates the terms of the probation, the court can enter an adjudication of guilt without any further proceedings and sentence the person accordingly. D.C. Code 48-904.01.

[elleng]

9. Thanks, facts help,

I hope.

[rrneck]

4. It is if your'e a white Republican. nt

[bluedigger]

5. That's the least of it.

What shocks me is that we have DEA agents pursuing misdemeanor crimes. They could save more lives checking for seat belt violations.

[MrScorpio]

6. Only if you're a white Congresscritter

They get the door for special people.

[Warpy]

8. Cocaine is worth a slap on your wrist, especially if you're in Congress or a hedg fund honcho or

lobbyist. Crack cocaine means they throw away the key.

This is something people have fought against for years, the unbelievable bias against poor folks in the sentencing for 2 forms of the same damned drug.

But yes, end the stupid drug war. It's not working, it has never worked, it will never work.

[Chakab]

11. The crack stigma is bizarre. It's the same fucking drug. It's just cocaine mixed with

an inert substance to make it solid and facilitate smoking. For this reason, a gram of crack on average actually contains less cocaine than a gram of powder cocaine (which is also mixed with inert substances so the street dealers can sell more product).

This is what makes the stricter minimum sentencing for crack cocaine as opposed to powder even more ridiculous. They're giving people more jail time based on how they choose to abuse the banned substance (snorting vs. smoking) rather than basing the sentence on the actual quantity that they're in possession of.

This would be like giving heroin addicts who shoot the drug intravenously rather than smoking it or snorting it stricter sentences.

[klook]

10. Depends on your melanin quotient. (n/t)