General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBuying 3 grams of cocaine in D.C. is a misdemeanor?
Really?
ON EDIT:
Don't get me wrong. I want the war on drugs over.
JimboBillyBubbaBob
(1,389 posts)what is the usual penalty for a 3 gram rock in DC?
SHRED
(28,136 posts)JimboBillyBubbaBob
(1,389 posts)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
(68,918 posts)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
(130,864 posts)I hope.
rrneck
(17,671 posts)bluedigger
(17,086 posts)What shocks me is that we have DEA agents pursuing misdemeanor crimes. They could save more lives checking for seat belt violations.
MrScorpio
(73,630 posts)They get the door for special people.
Warpy
(111,241 posts)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
(1,727 posts)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.