On August 3, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the bill that will make sentencing for crack cocaine more on par with sentencing for powder cocaine. Although the new law is not retroactive, it is expected to reduce the inmate population by 3,000 a year for the next five years.
Only federal prisoners will be effected by the new law. Crack cocaine sentencing was seen as being particularly harsh on the African-American community because thousands of African Americans are imprisoned for selling or for possession of crack cocaine. African Americans received a longer sentence for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine than whites did for possession of a larger quantity of powder cocaine.
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