It’s a Start

According to the St. Louis Dispatch, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin will be introducing legislation to rectify the severe disparity in cocaine base and cocaine powder federal punishment.  Currently it takes 500 grams of powder cocaine to achieve the same penalty for just 5 grams of cocaine base.  (Cocaine base is better known as “crack.”)  Apparently the legislation would make the ratio 1:1.  This is good, and I hope it’s just the first step toward reforming the federal criminal justice system.