In Another U. S. Supreme Court Case, Court Holds That "Cocaine Base" Broadly Applies To More Than Crack Cocaine.

The US Supreme Court ruled yesterday in a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in the case of DePierre v. United States, that the harsher sentences under a federal anti-drug statute for "cocaine base" applied to more than just "crack cocaine," but to all forms of cocaine in its basic form.

Surprisingly, the term "cocaine base" as used in the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 (ADAA) [21 USC § 841(a), as amended] referred only to "crack cocaine." The ADAA imposes harsher penalties for those convicted of selling "cocaine base" than the penalties for "powder cocaine."

Editor's note: Franz DePierre argued was convicted for selling two bags of cocaine base to government informant.