Arizona lawmakers advance bipartisan bill to end sentencing disparity for cocaine | Cannabis Law Report | How to buy Skittles Moonrock online

Arizona lawmakers unanimously advanced a bill to do away with a sentencing disparity for different forms of cocaine.

Under current law, the threshold established for harsher criminal penalties is different for powder cocaine and crack cocaine.

This bill would set the threshold amount at 9 grams regardless of what form the drug comes in. That’s the amount currently set for powdered cocaine, but offenders face the same sentence for having less than a hundredth of the amount of crack cocaine.

Arizona is one of just six states with this disparity.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Leo Biasiucci (R-Lake Havasu City), said it will keep some groups from being penalized over others for the same offense.

Several legal and law enforcement groups support the bill including Arizona Attorneys For Criminal Justice and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

“For too long, Arizona’s laws have imposed an unjust sentencing disparity on two chemically identical substances,” Biasiucci said in a statement. “HB 2720 ensures our justice system is guided by facts and fairness, not outdated policies from nearly 40 years ago. It’s time for Arizona to align with the federal government and the majority of states that have already fixed this inequity.”

Biasiucci is referring to the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which Arizona adopted and includes a cocaine sentencing disparity.