Pro & Con

READERS SEE LITTLE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CRACK AND POWDER COCAINE

We asked our readers: Should criminals who sell crack cocaine get
harsher prison sentences than those who sell powder cocaine? Here are
your responses:

Frank Johnson, Bainbridge

Crack vs. powdered cocaine. Hmmmmm ...what difference does it make?
As far as I'm concerned, there is none. Just because one drug has
been portrayed to be the drug of choice for the poor, and one for
those in the more affluent class, they are both evil.

If it were up to me, there would be a mandatory minimum on both the
sale and the possession of any drug that has not been duly prescribed
by a physician.

We have become a culture of excuses, and crimes without justice. I
would like to see a mandatory 20-year sentence for every drug dealer
as well as consumer.

Drug addiction is not a disease, and comparing it to people afflicted
with multiple sclerosis, cancer, diabetes and so on, is not only an
insult to those struggling with real diseases, it makes drug use more
acceptable in this disposable society.

We spend millions and millions on drug treatment instead of finding
cures for diseases that people didn't bring upon themselves. It is
very sad that we are now going to have to discuss whether one drug is
more or less tolerable than another.

I have been affected by addiction. Not by doing drugs myself, but by
having family members indulging in these chemical adventures. Let me
tell you, it is not acceptable in any form.

People will say that drugs are a victimless crime, and it's a matter
of personal choice. Well, guess what? It isn't. Look to the battered
women's shelters, look to Child Protective Services, look to the
cemeteries where the victims of addicts now rest.

There are no levels that are more or less acceptable, and therefore
should have no difference in levels of punishment. If we, as a
society, continue to punish some more than others, then next step
will be to punish some not at all.

It has been said that if you drop a frog into boiling water, he will
jump right out, but drop that same frog into cool water, and slowly
bring it to boil, he will happily cook.

We are getting close to that boiling point, and it's time to shut off
the burner.

Drugs are drugs; crime is crime; death is death. No matter how you spin it.

Chad Holmberg, Kirkwood

Sentencing for the use or sale of any drug will not solve any
problems. Whether the users or abusers are white-collar, blue-collar,
unemployed or independently wealthy, drug sale and abuse will never end.

I don't know the exact monetary figure, but I would safely assume
that drug sales in just the U.S. alone top $100 billion a year. Since
this "drug economy" is so huge, why would the government ever want it
to stop? The "war on drugs" is a farce. It's merely an illusion that
preys on people's fears. It's a campaign slogan that candidates sell
to scared citizens.

Truth is, look at all the tax-free drug money that the government
seizes every year. Ask yourself: How can the problem of drug sale and
abuse be stopped if the government itself doesn't want it stopped?
There's too much money to be made.

So everybody keep on debating which type of crime is worse and who
should be sentenced longer, while drugs pour into our country through
borders that have "token" protection.

Naivete is a disease in this country, and more people have caught it
than the common cold.

Nancy Spacek, Endicott

In my opinion, a drug dealer is a drug dealer. It doesn't matter what
way, shape or form, if it is an illegal drug or a controlled drug
that they have in their possession illegally, they are guilty. There
should be no difference in sentencing. It is illegal, they have
broken the law and should be dealt with accordingly!

James O'Connell, Endicott

The sentences for selling powdered cocaine should be raised to be the
same as for selling crack cocaine. The sentences for selling crack
cocaine should not be lowered to be the same as for selling powdered
cocaine. The penalties should be the same.