© 2024 St. Louis Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Mo. House OKs trimming disparity in cocaine sentences

A pile of crack cocaine ‘rocks.'
(via Wikimedia Commons/Drug Enforcement Administration)
A pile of crack cocaine ‘rocks.'

Missouri House members have endorsed legislation that would reduce the disparity in prison sentences between people charged with crack and powder cocaine crimes.

Under current state laws, someone found with 2 grams of crack faces the same prison sentence as a person who has 150 grams of cocaine.

The proposed legislation would raise the minimum amount of crack to 28 grams.

Changes to how Missouri treats crack and power cocaine were added this past week to broader legislation dealing with the state's judiciary. The judiciary legislation was approved 151-1 on Thursday and now moves to the state Senate.

A national report last year found that Missouri was among more than a dozen states with a sentencing disparity for the drugs.