Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986

History

The emergence of crack cocaine, along with the cocaine-related deaths of Len Bias and Don Rogers on June 19 and June 27, 1986, respectively, prompted then-Speaker of the House of Representatives Tip O'Neill to mobilize the House Democratic leadership to draft an omnibus anti-drug bill. This became the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986.

Congressional attention and extensive media coverage contributed to a moral panic surrounding cocaine use — which had earlier been regarded as relatively benign — and built momentum for the legislation. In September and October 1986, the House, with a Democratic majority, and the Senate, with a Republican majority, each advanced proposals for stricter anti-drug legislation ahead of the midterm elections. The bill was signed into law by Reagan on October 27.

Contents

Money Laundering Control Act

The Money Laundering Control Act of 1986 was enacted as Title I of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act. This title criminalized money laundering for the first time in the United States. It also amended the Bank Secrecy Act, the Change in Bank Control Act, and the Right to Financial Privacy Act.

Drug crimes

Along with the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, the act substantially increased the number of drug offenses with mandatory minimum sentences.

This act mandated a minimum sentence of 5 years without parole for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine, while it mandated the same for possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine. This 100:1 disparity was reduced to 18:1, when crack was increased to 28 grams (1 ounce) by the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010.

The law also banned the operation of venues intended for use of illegal drugs, a provision known as the "Crackhouse Law". It was amended in the RAVE Act of 2003.

Spending

The act authorized billions of dollars in spending, although substantially less was actually appropriated. Some of this was used to increase the substance abuse treatment federal block grant program, although treatment providers were disappointed at the reduced appropriations following politicians' earlier promises and authorization.

Other programs funded by the act included drug counseling and education programs, AIDS research, and international cooperation to limit drug production.

The Act also included the Drug Free Schools and Communities Act, which required colleges to establish drug abuse education and prevention programs.

Impact

The law led to an increase in average time imprisoned for drug crimes from 22 months to 33 months.

Racial effect

The Anti-Drug Abuse Act created a significant disparity in the sentences imposed for crimes involving powder cocaine versus crack cocaine, with the ratio of 100 to 1. For example, a drug crime involving 5 grams of crack cocaine resulted in a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in federal prison, while crimes involving 500 grams of powder cocaine received the same sentence. After the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, the number of black people sent to federal prison skyrocketed from approximately 50 in 100,000 adults to approximately 250 in 100,000 adults.

The Act also led to an increased disparity in prison sentencing lengths between races. Prior to the enactment of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, black people received sentences for drug-related crimes which were 11% longer than sentences received by whites who committed the same offense. In the years that followed, this disparity increased to 49%. This led to racial and class imbalance, with minorities facing harsher punishments for the use and sale of the same drug as their affluent, white counterparts.

Citations

References

References

1. Schuman, Jacob. "Drug Supervision". OHIO STATE JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL LAW.
2. (2022-11-16). "Expedient Imprisonment: How Federal Supervised Release Sentences Violate the Constitution - Virginia Law Review".
3. [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/snitch/primer/ Snitch: Drug Laws and Snitching – a Primer] {{Webarchive. link. (2015-10-23 . [[Frontline (U.S. TV series)]]. [[Public Broadcasting Service]]. The article also has a chart of mandatory minimum sentences for first time drug offenders.)
4. [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/cron/ Thirty Years of America's Drug War] {{Webarchive. link. (2011-02-24 . [[Frontline (U.S. TV series)]].)
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6. Reinarman and Levine, "Crack in America: Demon Drugs and Social Justice", Univ. of Cal. Press, 1997
7. (October 28, 1986). "REAGAN SIGNS ANTI-DRUG MEASURE; HOPES FOR 'DRUG-FREE GENERATION'". The New York Times.
8. (October 28, 1986). "Reagan Signs Antidrug Bill". The Washington Post.
9. "Obama signs bill reducing cocaine sentencing gap - CNN.com".
10. Erin Treacy, The Rave Act: A Specious Solution to the Serious Problem of Increased Ecstasy Distribution: Is It Unconstitutionally Overbroad, 28 Hastings COMM. & ENT. L.J. 229 (2005).
11. "Oct. 27, 1986: Anti-Drug Abuse Act Creates Racially Biased 100 to 1 Crack/Powder Disparity".
12. "Oct. 27, 1986: Anti-Drug Abuse Act Creates Racially Biased 100 to 1 Crack/Powder Disparity".
13. "Reagan's National Drug Strategy".