2 chapters across the catalog
Joe Biden's 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act established a 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. While Biden later claimed to have fought this disparity, he was a primary architect of the mandatory minimums that disproportionately targeted street-level offenders in black communities.
The 1986 death of basketball star Len Bias is identified as the ultimate catalyst for federal drug legislation. Bias, a top NBA draft pick, died of a cocaine overdose, which the media and politicians like Tip O'Neill immediately branded as a crack-related tragedy. This event allowed Congress to fast-track punitive laws that had previously lacked sufficient public and political momentum.
