Drug offenders make up 57 percent of all federal prisoners. Nearly 75 percent of federal drug offenders are African American or Latino. Many of them are first-time offenders with no history of violence. Although African Americans constitute 13 percent of the nation's population and only 17 percent of all cocaine users, they comprise almost 37 percent of those arrested for drug violations, over 42 percent of those in federal prisons for drug violations, and almost 60 percent of those in state prisons for drug felonies. Crack is less expensive and more prevalent in minority communities.
Powder cocaine is more expensive and common in white communities.
Whereas possession of five grams of crack cocaine has sentenced defendants to a mandatory federal sentence of five years, it has required possession of 500 grams of powdered cocaine to obtain a mandatory five year federal sentence. There are also political implications of drug laws. Approximately 1.4 million African-American men, or 13 percent of the adult male population, have lost their right to vote due to involvement with the criminal justice system. One study found more African-American males are in prison than in universities. In Texas alone, an estimated 16.3 percent of African American males cannot vote due to the criminal justice system, according to the Sentencing Project .