For example, for years, sentences for crack cocaine could be up to 100 times longer than sentences for powder cocaine, even though they are nearly identical chemically. (relevantmagazine.com)
Crack is terribly addictive, but its use is a direct consequence of the high cost of powdered cocaine. (religion-online.org)
Most particularly, judges were forbidden to consider the rankest hypocricies in the guidelines system — that sentences varied drastically simply based on the district of prosecution (a factor irrelevant to the factors in § 3553 (a)-RRB- or that they varied based on factors that sober study has found to be largely baseless, such as the significantly higher sentences imposed for crack cocaine than for powder cocaine offenses. (sentencing.typepad.com)