Despite evidence that large numbers of whites use and
sell crack cocaine, federal law enforcement in Southern
California has waged its "war on crack" almost
exclusively in the internal colonies, sentencing Blacks
and Latinos to some of the harshest drug penalties in
the United States. Prosecutors hammer Black and Latino
defendants with 10-year mandatory federal sentences
while whites prosecuted in state courts face a maximum
5-year sentence.

In the United States, whites account for over 67% of
people who have ever used crack (2.3 million out of 3.4
million total) and 53% of those who used crack in the
last year (488,000 out of 906,000). But less than 4% of
the defendants prosecuted in federal courts for crack-
related offenses in 1994 were white. Whites accounted
for 51% of crack users in the Los Angeles metro area,
but not a single white has been convicted of a crack
cocaine offense in Los Angeles federal courts since
1986, and only 4% of those prosecuted in state courts
were white.

Federal lawyers deny that nation plays any role in
prosecution patterns--but they openly admit that
federal and local law enforcement agencies concentrate
almost exclusively on minority communities. For
example, 96% of those arrested during a 1989 anti-drug
sweep of L.A. schools were minorities, because only
minority schools were targeted. Whites charged with
possessing enough crack to be prosecuted under federal
laws are not referred for federal prosecution because
they are not considered "big enough." They are
considered to be middle-people while Blacks and Latinos
are considered to be top dealers.

At the same time, Blacks and Latinos are regularly
handed over to federal prosecutors for possessing
similar amounts (or less) than amounts for which whites
are only charged locally. In many cases, undercover
agents make larger and larger demands on suspects they
buy from--entrapping suspects into carrying amounts
sufficient for federal prosecution.

Note: LA Times 5/21 /95.