The bill was the result of complaints by lawmakers representing urban communities, who said that harsher penalties for crack now on the books discriminated against minority residents. "Imagine if we had a different penalty for being drunk on beer or wine," said Rep. Michael P. Lawlor (D-East Haven), co-chair of the Judiciary Committee that approved the measure.

Currently, possessing a half-gram of crack can result in a five-year mandatory prison term, while offenders possessing powdered cocaine would have to have at least an ounce of the drug to receive the same penalty. The House measure raises the crack penalty threshold to possession of a full ounce of the drug.

Some lawmakers disagreed with that move, saying the threshold should have been lowered to a half-ounce for both drugs.

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