The United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) had an opportunity during this most recent amendment cycle to make significant and meaningful changes to the Sentencing Guidelines that would at least begin to bring federal drug sentencing more in line with medical, scientific, and sociological evidence. Perhaps most importantly, the Commission’s proposed amendments would have removed the baseline recommendation of a life sentence for federal drug crimes. Despite failing to make consequential changes to drug sentencing guidelines for over a decade, on Friday, April 11, the Commission declined to adopt any of the amendments it proposed in late January to lower base offense levels.
While the Commission did move to adopt amendments that would provide a cap on the recommended offense level for certain mitigating behavior, including engaging in low-level trafficking, this simply does not go far enough. The decision to avoid lowering base offense levels for drug offenses more broadly flies in the face of countless scientists, legal scholars, judges, public defenders, activists, and even survivors of serious harm and their families who understand the many ways adhering to outdated and erroneous logic that has upheld a 55-year-old War on Drugs only makes our communities less safe.
As April 11th was the last public meeting for this amendment cycle, the USSC’s adopted amendments will now be delivered to Congress by May 1. So long as Congress does not act to disapprove the changes, they will go into effect on November 1, 2025. The USSC’s next amendment cycle won’t likely start again until late summer / early fall.
MAPS remains committed to realizing a world where healing is possible for all. Such a world is only achievable when our policies are rooted in sound reasoning, reality, and evidence. We are grateful to the dozens of organizations that pushed alongside us in advocating for lower federal drug sentences and will continue in this fight until we see real change.
“To say I’m disappointed in the USSC’s decision would be an understatement. Not only does this ongoing refusal to act come after years of overwhelming community support for lowering federal drug sentencing guidelines, but it also follows a public hearing, held by this Commission just a month ago, during which experts and impacted people across numerous fields called for the same. I have explored similarly situated countries that are far safer and more peaceful than ours, despite having significantly shorter sentences, if any, for drug-related behavior that, in the US, can lead to life in prison. Every year, we continue to make a decision to adhere to a drug war that was fundamentally, blatantly, and admittedly rooted in racism. The consequences of that decision are heartbreaking. As Michelle Alexander noted, ‘there are more African Americans under correctional control in prison or jail, on probation or parole, than were enslaved in 1850, a decade before the Civil War began.’ While I am saddened by the USSC’s announcement on Friday, it is clear our work is far from done, and I am energized by our community’s tireless commitment to continue our efforts until we grow into a society that truly values all livesYou can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
–Sia Henry, Senior Policy Associate