Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986

E37693

The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 is a major U.S. federal law that significantly escalated the War on Drugs by establishing mandatory minimum sentences and harsher penalties for drug offenses, particularly involving crack cocaine.


Statements (50)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States federal statute
drug control law
aimedAt drug abuse
drug trafficking
organized crime related to drugs
alsoKnownAs Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-570)
amended Controlled Substances Act
Controlled Substances Import and Export Act
containsProvision asset forfeiture expansion for drug offenses
creation of new federal drug offenses
drug-free school zone enhancements
enhanced penalties for continuing criminal enterprises
federal death penalty for certain drug-related killings
funding for drug education and prevention programs
funding for drug treatment programs
increased funding for law enforcement
increased funding for prisons
country United States
crackToPowderCocaineSentencingRatio 100:1
createdSentencingDisparityBetween crack cocaine
powder cocaine
criticizedFor contributing to mass incarceration
harsh mandatory minimum sentences
racial disparities in sentencing outcomes
dateSigned 1986-10-27
enactedBy 99th United States Congress
establishedMandatoryMinimum 10-year mandatory minimum sentence for higher drug quantities
5-year mandatory minimum sentence for certain drug quantities
focus crack cocaine distribution
drug-related violent crime
increasedPenaltiesFor drug kingpins
drug offenses involving minors
drug trafficking near schools
influenced Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988
introducedMandatoryMinimumSentencesFor crack cocaine offenses
federal drug offenses
powder cocaine offenses
jurisdiction federal government of the United States
legislativeStatus in force with later amendments
partOf War on Drugs
policyArea criminal justice
drug policy
public health
presidentAtEnactment Ronald Reagan
publicLawNumber Pub.L. 99-570
relatedTo Fair Sentencing Act of 2010
signedBy Ronald Reagan
subjectOf legal scholarship on sentencing disparities
policy debates on War on Drugs
yearEnacted 1986

Referenced by (6)

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