Obama Finally Does Something Good for Black People….
According to CNN, U.S. president Barack Obama earlier today signed a bill reducing the penalties for possession of crack cocaine.
This bill is important because the old law unfairly targeted blacks and Hispanics with harsh punishment, while users who snorted powder cocaine recreationally usually got off with a slap on the wrist.
The Fair Sentencing Act repeals a five-year mandatory sentence for first time offenders, and for repeat offenders with less than 28 grams of crack cocaine. The old law set the mandatory sentence for conviction at five grams.
African-Americans have been far more likely than whites and Hispanics to be convicted for — and receive the harsher penalties associated with — possession of crack cocaine, according to government statistics. White and Hispanic defendants are more frequently charged with possession of powder cocaine.
The now-defunct measure had been in place for 25 years. The House passed the new law through a bipartisan voice vote last week, following approval by the Senate in March. Read More…
31 Responses to “Obama Finally Does Something Good for Black People….”
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He is helping the whole nation with this one, Sandra.
Crack does not discriminate.
LoL! @Sandra about NEW POST.
Hello All. Today, Aug 3, a black man kills 8 plus himself in Conn, claiming his boss, beer distributors, were racist; Yesterday, 6 black teenagers drown in LA, bloggers ask why they couldn’t swim, try to blame parents.
This said, President Obama has a race problem that will not disappear. Perhaps he should create a Senate Race Relations Committee, similar to the Senate Foreign Relations Comm. After all, RACE is STILL the touchiest subject in America. Peace.
Well I guess next summer I can expect to see more tricked out chevys, lacs, and lincolns, since they won’t have to worry as much about tough sentencing…smh…
You can’t have a war on drugs when the govt. is apart of the distribution of the drugs.
GREAT! NOW I CAN GET MY SLANG AND BANG ON IN PEACE!!!!
But I will say I’m not sure how I feel on this… actually I do know. The way drug crimes are prosecuted and enforced in this country needs to be completely redone so I get what they’re doing but more needs to be done. Drug addicts are sick they need effective programs to rehabilite them and put them back into society and they need to put the dealers under the jail for all drugs not certain ones as well as anybody they find cooperating with the dealers. But so much people profit off drug crimes and deals that true reform will never happen
Sooo @ Ms Rose, only black folks smoke crack??
Anyway, kudos to Mr Obama for doing this shyt right here. This should have been done ages ago.
@Kcalvin2002
I’d rather see that then all these so-called businessmen that rob people of their life savings but only get a slap on the wrist. Do 4 years in candyland jail and get out, still being millionaires and still living the life.
Meant to say so many not so much
Everyone, please remind me in the future that Obama did something good for black people today. It happens so rarely that I’m sure I’ll forget.
^^^^ LoL!
“Black man sells and smokes crack and a white man gets paid off of all of that.”
The next question for me would be why they hell I cant get my claritin without out going thru a bunch of BS?? Now that’s some more racist ass BS to me. Meth is such a ‘epidemic’ because the majority of users are white folks. I didnt see them putting baking soda behind the counter when the ‘crack epidemic’ was going on (and still goin on).
#bullshyt
***I aint neva knowed a black person that smoke meth? Yall??***
Ok Obama… now to get weed on through there.
Man, I just don’t care™ says:
Ok Obama… now to get weed on through there.
____________________
#iknowthatsright
So he’s only helping out black people??
now THAT statement seems racist to me
I dont know any Black people who smoke Meth but i know they out there.
@Sugar, I am not saying that I dont think it is not a step in the right direction that Obama is making, I was just really trying to be funny…
But seeing that where I am from the only profession in the city that you can make six figures is either becoming a drug dealer or an attorney…Either way which do you really think is worst in the long run, having your grandmothers life savings took or having to explain to 3 young children that there mother is a crack head, no longer able to provide…I know neither situation has a good outcome, but I am sure kids need their parents more….
ericaharry says:
So he’s only helping out black people??
now THAT statement seems racist to me
************************
The old law unfairly targeted black people who were the major consumers of crack cocaine. Now that was racist.
@Sugar my ex husband is a meth head and I used to say the same thing until I found out but working with the different rehab programs it is a serious epidimic because its spreading and so cheap/easy to make and fast to make that young people from all areas/social classes/races are using it. In a couple years the meth epidimic will far exceed the crack epidimic and meth destroys these peoples brain cells. Many never get full brain capacity back. They aren’t calling it an epicimic because of whites and it is not something to be taken lightly
Let’s be honest, blacks were the major buyers and sellers of crack, Congress, knowing this, instituted laws specifically against crack to APPEAR against drugs but they knew this would mainly effect blacks. Therefore, they didn’t care.
This SHOULD have been ruled “Unconstitutional” by SOMEONE’S interputation by now anyway. SMH.
We got politicians talking about voters “taking a test” in order to vote and chit again. :/
Man I completely agree. I want reform across the board on all the drug laws but I fully agree about the crack laws being racist and unconstitutional. This is definitely a start but more needs to be done
I feel you @ Kcalvin. I just hate to see black folks struggle to get theirs. When our backs are up against the wall and we choose to do something illegal while trying to make a living for our families, sometimes we get caught up and the court wanna throw the book at us. Put a young man in the clank for the rest of his life over some chump change??
But then Joe Blow, who’s already ballin in the 1st place, does some shady dealings and makes off with millions and only gets 3-4 years max. Gets out and he still rich. Shyt just dont add up to me but yeah I still see where you are coming from.
The police know the difference between a big time dealer and small time dealer but they dish out the same type of sentences. I dont agree with that either.
SugarPieHoneybunn says:
Man, I just don’t care™ says:
Ok Obama… now to get weed on through there.
____________________
#iknowthatsright
_______________________________________
We about to vote to get it legalized in California!
#teamObama
@AM I followed you back on twitter
@Sandra THANK YOU FOR A POSITIVE PRESIDENT OBAMA POST
SR, Please stop cuttin up!
@SR
So out of all the positive things that can come of America having a black president you choose to highlight drug use sentence reduction…
Happy Birthday Mr. Prsident!
#Team Obama 
I think you got the wrong idea Miss Sandra. Its the dealers they are helping with this law, not the users. Dealers were getting more time for crack than powder and as we know a large percentage of black and latino young men sell crack. Either way, this is a group I couldn’t care less about. Don’t sell drugs and you won’t have to worry about how harsh the penalty is.
The meth addiction is being called an epidemic because it is starting to reach the middle and upper classes in high numbers. Meth isn’t new, but low income and rural areas were not priority. Anything will gain national attention when it can be found on college campuses, corporate America, rolling labs on you local expressways, etc. It’s not always fair, but I’m glad people in large numbers are moving away from the ‘can’t happen to me’ attitude.