"The major routes of administration of cocaine are sniffing or snorting, injecting, and smoking (including free-base and crack cocaine). Snorting is the process of inhaling cocaine powder through the nose where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through the nasal tissues. Injecting is the act of using a needle to release the drug directly into the bloodstream. Smoking involves inhaling cocaine vapor or smoke into the lungs where absorption into the bloodstream is as rapid as by injection."

Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Infofax: Cocaine No. 13546 (Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/cocaine.html

"'Crack' is the street name given to cocaine that has been processed from cocaine hydrochloride to a free base for smoking. Rather than requiring the more volatile method of processing cocaine using ether, crack cocaine is processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water and heated to remove the hydrochloride, thus producing a form of cocaine that can be smoked. The term 'crack' refers to the crackling sound heard when the mixture is smoked (heated), presumably from the sodium bicarbonate."

Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Infofax: Cocaine No. 13546 (Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/cocaine.html

"Although most cocaine in the USA is snorted intranasally, smoking crack cocaine has become widely publicized. The imported hydrochloride salt is converted to a more volatile form, usually by adding sodium bicarbonate, water, and heat. The converted material is combusted, and the resultant smoke inhaled. Onset of effect is quicker, and intensity of the 'high' is magnified. Use of crack by the urban poor and the criminal market for crack have become the most feared problems of drug abuse. Despite frequent predictions, crack use has not expanded to the suburbs or the urban middle class. Its continued use still occurs primarily in poor Americans."

Source: "Cocaine Dependence", The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, Section 15.Psychiatric Disorders, Chapter 195.Drug Use and Dependence, Merck & Co. Inc.http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section15/chapter195/195f.htm

"There is great risk whether cocaine is ingested by inhalation (snorting), injection, or smoking. It appears that compulsive cocaine use may develop even more rapidly if the substance is smoked rather than snorted. Smoking allows extremely high doses of cocaine to reach the brain very quickly and brings an intense and immediate high. The injecting drug user is at risk for transmitting or acquiring HIV infection/AIDS if needles or other injection equipment are shared."

Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Infofax: Cocaine No. 13546 (Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/cocaine.html

"Some users of cocaine report feelings of restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. An appreciable tolerance to the high may be developed, and many addicts report that they seek but fail to achieve as much pleasure as they did from their first exposure. Scientific evidence suggests that the powerful neuropsychologic reinforcing property of cocaine is responsible for an individual's continued use, despite harmful physical and social consequences. In rare instances, sudden death can occur on the first use of cocaine or unexpectedly thereafter. However, there is no way to determine who is prone to sudden death."

Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Infofax: Cocaine No. 13546 (Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/cocaine.html

"Because cocaine is very short-acting, heavy users may inject it intravenously or smoke it 10 to 15 minutes. This repetition produces toxic effects, such as tachycardia, hypertension, mydriasis, muscle twitching, sleeplessness, and extreme nervousness. If hallucinations, paranoid delusions, and aggressive behavior develop, the person may be dangerous. Pupils are maximally dilated, and the drug's sympathomimetic effect increases heart and respiration rates and blood pressure."

Source: "Cocaine Dependence", The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, Section 15.Psychiatric Disorders, Chapter 195.Drug Use and Dependence, Merck & Co. Inc. [url]http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section15/chapter195/195f.htm[/url

"An overdose of cocaine may produce tremors, convulsions, and delirium. Death may occur due to arrhythmias and cardiovascular failure."

Source: "Cocaine Dependence", The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, Section 15.Psychiatric Disorders, Chapter 195.Drug Use and Dependence, Merck & Co. Inc. http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section15/chapter195/195f.htm

"When people mix cocaine and alcohol consumption, they are compounding the danger each drug poses and unknowingly forming a complex chemical experiment within their bodies. NIDA-funded researchers have found that the human liver combines cocaine and alcohol and manufactures a third substance, cocaethylene, that intensifies cocaine's euphoric effects, while possibly increasing the risk of sudden death."

Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Infofax: Cocaine No. 13546 (Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/cocaine.html

Research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia states: "Although numerous animal experiments and some human data show potent effects of cocaine on the central nervous system, we were unable to detect any difference in Performance, Verbal or Full Scale IQ scores between cocaine-exposed and control children at age 4 years."

Source: Hallam Hurt, MD; Elsa Malmud, PhD; Laura Betancourt; Leonard E. Braitman, PhD; Nancy L. Brodsky, Phd; Joan Giannetta, "Children with In Utero Cocaine Exposure Do Not Differ from Control Subjects on Intelligence Testing," Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Vol. 151: 1237-1241 (American Medical Association, 1997).

Well-controlled studies find minimal or no increased risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) among cocaine-exposed infants.

Sources: Bauchner, H., Zuckerman, B., McClain, M., Frank, D., Fried, L.E., & Kayne, H., "Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome among Infants with In Utero Exposure to Cocaine," Journal of Pediatrics, 113: 831-834 (1988). (Note: Early studies reporting increased risk of SIDS did not control for socioeconomic characteristics and other unhealthy behaviors. See, e.g., Chasnoff, I.J., Hunt, C., & Kletter, R., et al., "Increased Risk of SIDS and Respiratory Pattern Abnormalities in Cocaine-Exposed Infants," Pediatric Research, 20: 425A (1986); Riley, J.G., Brodsky, N.L. & Porat, R., "Risk for SIDS in Infants with In Utero Cocaine Exposure: a Prospective Study," Pediatric Research, 23: 454A (1988).

Among the general population there has been no detectable increase in birth defects which may be associated with cocaine use during pregnancy.

Source: Martin, M.L., Khoury, M.J., Cordero, J.F. & Waters, G.D., "Trends in Rates of Multiple Vascular Disruption Defects, Atlanta, 1968-1989: Is There Evidence of a Cocaine Teratogenic Epidemic?" Teratology, 45: 647-653 (1992).

The lack of quality prenatal care is associated with undesirable effects often attributed to cocaine exposure: prematurity, low birth weight, and fetal or infant death.

Sources: Klein, L., & Goldenberg, R.L., "Prenatal Care and its Effect on Pre-Term Birth and Low Birth Weight," in Merkatz, I.R. & Thompson, J.E. (eds.), New Perspectives on Prenatal Care (New York, NY: Elsevier, 1990), pp. 511-513; MacGregor, S.N., Keith, L.G., Bachicha, J.A. & Chasnoff, I.J., "Cocaine Abuse during Pregnancy: Correlation between Prenatal Care and Perinatal Outcome," Obstetrics and Gynecology, 74: 882-885 (1989).

"The proportion of high school seniors who have used cocaine at least once in their lifetimes has increased from a low of 5.9% in 1994 to 9.8% in 1999. However, this is lower than its peak of 17.3% in 1985. Current use of cocaine by seniors decreased from a high of 6.7% in 1985 to 2.6% in 1999. Also in 1999, 7.7% of 10th-graders had tried cocaine at least once, up from a low of 3.3% in 1992. The percentage of 8th-graders who had ever tried cocaine has increased from a low of 2.3% in 1991 to 4.7% in 1999."

Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Infofax: Cocaine No. 13546 (Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/cocaine.html

"Of college students 1 to 4 years beyond high school, in 1995, 3.6% had used cocaine within the past year, and 0.7% had used cocaine in the past month."

Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Infofax: Cocaine No. 13546 (Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/cocaine.html

"In 1998, about 1.7 million Americans were current (at least once per month) cocaine users. This is about 0.8% of the population age 12 and older; about 437,000 of these used crack. The rate of current cocaine use in 1998 was highest among Americans ages 18 to 25 (2%). The rate of use for this age group was significantly higher in 1998 than in 1997, when it was 1.2%."

Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Infofax: Cocaine No. 13546 (Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/cocaine.html

"Discontinuing sustained use of cocaine requires considerable assistance, and the depression that may result requires close supervision and treatment. Many nonspecific therapies, including support and self-help groups and cocaine hot lines, exist. Extremely expensive inpatient therapy is available."

Source: "Cocaine Dependence", The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, Section 15.Psychiatric Disorders, Chapter 195. Drug Use and Dependence, Merck & Co. Inc.
http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section15/chapter195/195f.htm

this was very well broken down to all facts of it and what it does
the main stream that is world wide and taking control of many mindz and souls this something we all need to hear , know and watch for in our love one , friends , the actions and affects it has and do to a body .Thanks for adding this thread here so the blind
can see and know the truth of what they call the death angel

COCA/COCAINE TIMELINE:

ca. 3000 BC - Coca-chewing is practiced throughout South America. Coca is believed to be a gift from God.

15th Century - Coca plantations are operated by Incas in Peru.

1505 - First hand accounts of coca use made their way back to Europe. Amerigo Vespucci (1505), G Frenandez de Oviedo (1535), and Nicholas Monardes (1565).

Early 1500s - Incan coca plantations are taken over by holders of Spanish land grants. Spanish tax laws are revised to allow land owners to make their tax payments in coca leaves.

1539 - The Bishop of Cuzco tithes coca, taking 1/10 of the value of each crop in taxes.

Mid-1500s - Inca Empire. Pizarro invades and destroys the Inca Empire (1553); Coca production in Peru expands quickly causing a glut of leaf on the market which in turn precipitated a drop in the price of coca. Nicolas Monardes reports an increase in coca chewing particularly among lower classes of Andean Indians, as traditional controls disappear (1569).

1574 - Monardes' text on Coca is first translated into other European languages from Spanish; Latin (1574), Italian (1576), English (1577).

ca.1575 - Forced laborers working in the Spanish silver mines were kept well supplied with coca leaves. Roughly 8% of the Europeans living in Peru were involved in the Coca trade.

1580 - Europe. Monardes brings coca leaves to Europe; unlike tobacco, it fails to generate interest or use, probably because most coca leaves lost their potency during the long voyage.

1662 - Abraham Cowley writes a poem titled "A Legend of Coca." This is the first independent mention of coca in English literature.

1708 - Coca is first mentioned in a materia medica, "Institutiones Medicae," written by German physician and botanist Herman Boerhaave.

1835 - First accurate drawing of coca appears in popular English press. The illustration, by Sir William Hooker, director of the Kew Gardens, was published in Companion to the Botanical Magazine.

ca.1850 - Coca tinctures used in throat surgery.

ca.1855 - Cocaine first extracted from coca leaves.

1862 - Merck produces 1/4-pound of cocaine.

1863 - Angelo Mariani patents a preparation of coca extract and Bordeaux wine called "Vin Mariani."

1869 - Seeds from the commercial variety of coca arrived at Kew Gardens.

1870 - "Vin Mariani" (coca wine) is for sale throughout France, containing 6 mg of cocaine per ounce of wine. Exported Vin Mariani contained 7.2 mg per ounce to compete with the higher cocaine content of American competitors.

1870s - Parke-Davis manufactures a fluid extract of coca.

1876-1885 - Race walkers in England chew coca leaves to improve their performance.

1883 - Merck produces 3/4 pounds of cocaine.

1883 - German physician Theodor Aschenbrandt administered cocaine to members of the Bavarian army to enhance their endurance on maneuvers. Aschenbrandt's study, published in a German medical journal, would be read by a young Viennese neurologist named Sigmund Freud.

1884 - Cocaine's use as a local anesthetic in eye surgery is popularized.

1884 - Freud publishes "On Coca," in which he recommends the use of cocaine to treat a variety of conditions including morphine addiction.

1884 - Merck produces 3,179 pounds of cocaine.

1886 - Merck produces 158,352 pounds of Cocaine.

1886 - Coca-Cola is first introduced by John Pemberton, containing cocaine-laced syrup and caffeine.

Late 1880s - Parke-Davis starts to manufacture refined cocaine.

ca. 1901 - Coca-Cola removed coca from their formula.

1903 - The expiration of a patent on the cocaine-extraction process increases demand for coca.

ca. 1905 - Snorting cocaine becomes popular.

1906 - Pure Food and Drug Act is passed, regulating the labelling of products containing alcohol, opiates, cocaine and cannabis, among others. The law went into effect Jan 1, 1907.

1910 - First cases of nasal damage from cocaine-snorting are written of in medical literature.

1910 - First cases of nasal damage from cocaine-snorting are seen in hospitals.

1912 - U.S. government reports 5,000 cocaine-related fatalities in one year.

1914 - The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act is passed, regulating and imposing a tax upon the sale of opium, heroin and cocaine for the first time. The Act took effect March 1, 1915.

Early 1930s - Japan is the world's leading cocaine producer (23.3%) followed by the United States (21.3%), Germany (15%), England (9.9%), and France (8.3%).

1920-1970 - Cocaine use subsides in the U.S. One Bureau of Narcotics supervisor in New York City reported in 1940 that they "rarely hear of cocaine being used".

1970 - The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act is passed. Part II of this is the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) which defines a scheduling system for drugs. It places most of the known hallucinogens (LSD, psilocybin, psilocin, mescaline, peyote, cannabis, & MDA) in Schedule I. It places coca, cocaine and injectable methamphetamine in Schedule II. Other amphetamines and stimulants, including non-injectable methamphetamine are placed in Schedule III.

ca. 1976 - Freebase cocaine first developed (probably in California). It would soon be popularized by dealers and glamorized by the Hollywood media.

1981 - Wholesale cost of 1 kg. of cocaine is $55,000.

1984 - Wholesale cost of 1 kg. cocaine is $25,000.

Mid-1980s - Freebase cocaine becomes popular.

Mid-1980s-present - Enter "crack," the street name given to cocaine that has been processed from cocaine hydrochloride to a free-base for smoking. Rather than requiring the more volatile method of processing cocaine using ether, crack-cocaine is processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water and heated to remove the hydrochloride, thus producing a form of cocaine that can be smoked. The term "crack" refers to the crackling sound heard when the mixture is heated, presumably from the sodium bicarbonate.

this is a great awareness to our people the true facts
of a killer to our community or mental mindz and the
hopes of dreams of our children
this what we need to learn and know how it all break
down and how this additive drug was created born
in the cities pushed upon our people as a used controller
this was a very valuable infomation to know and understand
as we continue forward cleaning our systems
thanks for this knowledge givin

Tru dat, Rich...and thank you for your comments...

I wonder what gives crack that "soapy" smell that one usually detects on a crack-addict or crack-house.

Could it be the soda?

Other chemicals?

1884 - Merck produces 3,179 pounds of cocaine.

1886 - Merck produces 158,352 pounds of Cocaine.



Merck like the merck that produces prescription drugs?

That's them, Nisa...

That's them, Nisa...


Aint that some mess

Cocaine was legal up until 1914...they used to put it in soft drinks...that's how "Coca-Cola" got its name...

Small Businesses Profiting From Crack Cocaine

Is the epidemic really over?

By Adeeba Folami

Crack-cocaine usage reached epidemic proportions - particularly in the Black community - during the mid-1980s. Since then, usage of the drug has diminished amongst Blacks, but the fact remains that few families can claim to be free of having at least one member who fell into the clutches of the destructively-addictive drug.

Crack was - and continues to be - a profitable enterprise on a number of levels and for a variety of individuals and businesses, some not directly linked to actual sale and distribution of the drug. One way small businesses - such as convenience and liquor stores, gas stations and head shops - profit is through the sale of items commonly known as “rose tubes,” or “stems.” These products are small glass tubes into which a miniature toy rose has been inserted. Innocent sounding? Yes. Could they pass as small gifts or knick-knacks? Absolutely. However, that is rarely the end-use for the clear, four-inch cylinders that authorities have found are often used as pipes for smoking crack. How so? Well, the cork-tipped, rose-filled tubes in and of themselves are not the problem, but reports from various cities show that addicts buy these tubes, remove the rose and the cork tip, insert a small piece of scouring pad, (to act as a filter), and thus the tube becomes a crack-pipe ready for use once the drug is added. The wiry filter is purchased separately, and is simply a small section of scouring pad torn or cut off from a larger one.

Some reports cite that these items are commonly sold in inner-city stores and areas known for excessive drug-related activity. Last year, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) seized a shipment of over 300,000 tubes that were set for distribution to a number of outlets in Detroit. I handled one of the rose-filled cylinders in a Denver convenience store, and was told by one buyer - an admitted crack-user who withheld his identity - that he bought them there “all the time.”

Internet searches link you to many published reports of the tubes being sold and used for drug purposes in numerous places, including St. Petersburg, FL, Lincoln, NE, Huntsville, AL, and various cities in Illinois. Chicago reportedly banned the sale of the tubes in 1999, and activists in locales around the country have initiated campaigns in their areas seeking an end to the sale of the items. The rose tubes in the Denver store sold for $1.00, and the accompanying scouring-pad piece was an additional .25-.35 cents more. However, the DEA reported $4.00 per tube as the selling price in Detroit. Undoubtedly, stores that sell these items in “crack areas” are profiting nicely from meeting the demand for this type of paraphernalia.

Who supplies these business owners with their inventory? Wholesalers like Jacobs Paradise, located in Monrovia, CA. The company's website offers the tubes for sale by the case under the product name, “Love Rose.” Each case contains 50 displays, 36 tubes in every one. The displays are sold for $3.00, or a little over eight cents per tube. That means store owners are making a profit of 12-50 times more per tube than they paid for them. The owner of Jacobs Paradise, a company that has been in business for nearly a decade, did not want to give his name upon answering his business telephone line, and told me he was not aware the "Love Roses" he sold were often used in drug activity. His defense was to draw a parallel between his company making the tubes widely available, and companies who sell the knives which are used in crimes daily. “You don't find people writing stories about the knives,” he said, and refused to reveal the quantity of "Love Rose" cases he sells annually.

Interestingly, although sales of these items have been restricted in some cities, authorities in places like Denver say they can do little about stores capitalizing on the crack-cocaine market unless they can prove owners and clerks know what their customers are buying the "Love Roses" for. In other areas there have been arrests made when some business operators made the decision to boldly begin selling “crack kits,” which made the tubes, scouring-pad section and a lighter available as a package deal. That act can result in a charge of possession or sale of drug paraphernalia, which is why more store owners opted to begin pricing and selling the items separately. This allows them to remain above the law while continuing to profit, indirectly, from the big business enterprise that has manifested as a result of that original crack-cocaine epidemic of the 1980s. This also raises the question: Has the crack epidemic truly diminished, or has it merely progressed to a more subtle, yet sophisticated level?

http://adeebafolami.com/archives/rosetubes.html

Squirrels on Crack

South London Press
Oct. 7, 2005

Nature lovers fear that squirrels could become hooked on crack-cocaine plundered from addicts' hidden stashes. The furry animals are thought to be behind a new drug-turf war in Brixton - stealing rocks of crack hidden in front gardens.

Tough police action to rid the town centre of dealers and addicts has seen crackheads abandon their usual drug stash hideouts. But the blitz has displaced some dealing into nearby residential streets. Drug addicts are known to be hiding small stashes of crack rocks in people's front lawns late at night.

Squirrels have been spotted in the same front gardens, seemingly hunting out the buried narcotics. The discovery has led some residents to speculate that the squirrels are already in the grips of addiction. One resident, who asked that his name to be withheld, told the South London Press: "I was chatting with my neighbor who told me that crack-users and dealers sometimes use my front garden to hide bits of their stash. "An hour earlier I'd seen a squirrel wandering round the garden, digging in the flowerbeds. It looked like it knew what it was looking for. It was ill-looking and its eyes looked bloodshot, but it kept on desperately digging. It was almost as if it was trying to find hidden crack rocks."

Crack squirrels are a recognized phenomena in the United States. They are known to live in parks frequented by addicts in New York and Washington DC. The squirrels have attacked park visitors in their frenzied search for their next fix. An RSPCA spokesman said he was unaware of the squirrels taking crack in Brixton.

http://icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0400lambeth/tm_objectid=16217629&method=full&siteid=50100&headline=squirrels-on-crack-name_page.html

"'Crack' is the street name given to cocaine that has been processed from cocaine hydrochloride to a free base for smoking. Rather than requiring the more volatile method of processing cocaine using ether, crack cocaine is processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water and heated to remove the hydrochloride, thus producing a form of cocaine that can be smoked. The term 'crack' refers to the crackling sound heard when the mixture is smoked (heated), presumably from the sodium bicarbonate."

Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse, Infofax: Cocaine No. 13546 (Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/cocaine.html

Wow, Aqil did the South American indians get high from these coca plants? I remember seeing something on the Discovery Channel that said something about one people used some addictive drug so they can produce hallucinations. I don't know if it was crack or coccaine, though.

From Wikipedia:

For thousands of years (and still today) South American indigenous peoples have chewed the coca leaf, a plant that contains vital nutrients as well as numerous alkaloids, including cocaine. The leaf was and is chewed almost universally by some indigenous communities, but there is no evidence that its habitual use ever led to any of the negative consequences generally associated with habitual cocaine use today.

It is an important source of nutrition and energy in a region that is lacking in other food sources and oxygen; the vitamins and protein present in the leaves, as well as the cocaine alkaloid, helps provide the energy and strength necessary for steep walks in this mountainous area and days without eating.

When the Spaniards conquered South America, they at first ignored Aboriginal claims that the leaf gave them strength and energy, and declared the practice of chewing it the work of the devil. But after discovering that these claims were true, they legalized and taxed the leaf, taking 10% of the value of each crop. These taxes were for a time the main source of support for the Roman Catholic Church in the region.

In 1609 Father Blas Valera wrote:

"Coca protects the body from many ailments, and our doctors use it in powdered form to reduce the swelling of wounds, to strengthen broken bones, to expel cold from the body or prevent it from entering, and to cure rotten wounds or sores that are full of maggots. And if it does so much for outward ailments, will not its singular virtue have even greater effect in the entrails of those who eat it?"

Great post Aqil !

Thanks HODEE...

CRACK, CONGRESS AND THE MILLION MAN MARCH...

By Nkechi Taifa

The 10th anniversary of the Million Man March also marks the 10th anniversary of a missed opportunity to dramatically reduce the number of African-Americans in prison. Bill Clinton, jokingly referred to as the “first black president,” could have made the decisive difference a decade ago by remedying one of the most notorious illustrations of disparity in the criminal justice system – the singling out of crack-cocaine offenders for harsher punishment than powder-cocaine offenders.

This sentencing law treats possession of just five grams of crack-cocaine (the weight of five packets of sweet and low) the same as the trafficking of 500 grams of powder cocaine (about the weight of a one pound bag of sugar). In other words, one receives the same five-year mandatory sentence for 5 grams of crack as for 500 grams of powder. But because powder cocaine can very easily be converted to crack, to punish crack-cocaine offenses at a quantity ratio 100 times greater than its original powder form, is irrational.

Despite prevalent stereotypes, the majority of documented crack users are white. The “war on drugs,” however, has been primarily fought in inner-city Black communities. This law-enforcement policy has caused a disproportional number of low-level black drug abusers to be herded to prison under the crack laws, serving unreasonably harsh sentences. On October 16, 1995, not coincidentally the day of the Million Man March, then President Clinton eloquently appealed for “fairness and equality” in a riveting address on race relations on a college campus, in which he stressed the need to “root out racism” from the criminal justice system. Ironically, two days after that speech, the justice and equality that a million Black men had marched to the steps of the Capitol to demand, was deferred. Congress voted against equalizing the quantities for the sentencing of crack and powder cocaine offenses.

This vote was suspect because lawmakers rejected the wisdom of their own bipartisan Sentencing Commission, which had meticulously researched and analyzed cocaine and federal sentencing policy over a two-year period. The Commission had come to the unanimous conclusion that the sentences for crack-cocaine were too great and must be changed. Shamefully, out of over 500 recommendations submitted by the expert Commission since its inception, this was the first one Congress chose to ignore.

The ball was then in Mr. Clinton’s court. Congressional Black Caucus members pointedly appealed to the president to eradicate the disparity in cocaine sentencing. This was the first “test,” they declared, in the wake of the Million Man March, to prove he would “root out” unjust policies and practices. A coalition of civil rights groups at that time declared that eliminating this unjust law would have been “as easy as the stroke of a pen.” Unfortunately, Mr. Clinton failed to turn his eloquently delivered words on race relations into deeds, instead siding with the congressional majority and disregarding rationally based reform. And prisons continued to be built – and filled – throughout the 1990s.

Ten years have come and gone. Nearly a million Black people are now in prison – largely because the harsh crack-cocaine laws have remained unchanged. Politics, however, must not continue to drive sentencing policy. Now is the time for progressives and conservatives to join together to rectify the missed opportunity of the past. Congress must listen to the advice of its own Sentencing Commission, which concluded that revising this one law “would better reduce the gap (in sentencing between African-Americans and other racial groups), and it would dramatically improve the fairness of the federal sentencing system.”

During the past decade the historic Million Man March has spawned several other national marches, including this past weekend’s Millions More Movement, pulling together not just men, but women, youth, and families as well. But the continuation of harsh and irrational sentencing laws is tearing these very families apart. These laws have thrust unprecedented numbers of women into the criminal justice system, subsequently terminating parental rights to their children. They have resulted in the warehousing of youth for prison terms at the beginning of their adulthood, creating in the process an epidemic of physical, mental, and public health issues. And those who manage to return to communities at the conclusion of decades-long sentences are confronted with staggering barriers to successful reintegration into society, oftentimes causing renewal of the same harmful cycles that put them in prison in the first place.

It is time that crack-cocaine laws change. Policymakers must have the courage to rationally reform them, and to directly confront issues of racial disparity. Perhaps the Millions More Movement can be the beginning of a grassroots catalyst that encourages those on Capitol Hill and in the White House to mend this “crack” in our justice system.

(Nkechi Taifa, Esq., is a Senior Policy Analyst with the Open Society Institute and an Adjunct Professor at Howard University School of Law.)