Len Bias Effect

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The effect of Bias’s death from drugs was also felt in the school system. School curriculums were changed to make it so that schools taught students that any form of cocaine could be deadly. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, known as D.A.R.E., was created in 1983, but was expanded and more strictly Implemented in 1988 (Robinson, 2006). Bias’s death led to drug abuse being taught to students. Zirin went on to say, “I remember D.A.R.E. and being told about my duty to turn in my parents if I ever saw them with “illegal drugs.” Fortunately for them, I never caught them because at age 11, with Len Bias’s death on my mind, I think I was ready to do it” (Zirin, 2013). Even at a young age of 11, students were being taught how bad any form …show more content…
Tip O’Neil, speaker of the house at the time who lived in Boston said, “'Write me some goddamn legislation,' All anybody up in Boston is talking about is Len Bias. The papers are screaming for blood. We need to get out front on this now. This week. Today. The Republicans beat us to it in 1984 and I don’t want that to happen again. I want dramatic new initiatives for dealing with crack and other drugs” (Modiano, 2016). Bias’s death had impacted so many people emotionally and acted as such an eye-opener for drug abuse that politicians wanted people to enact laws that would be well received by constituents. Later in 1986, after Bias’s death, Time Magazine would call crack cocaine the ‘Issue of The Year’. However, the laws that Congress would pass would not have the complete effect they intended to …show more content…
“The Len Bias Law” created more mandatory minimums for crack and cocaine and allowed police to expand their ability to make arrests (Zirin, 2013). Now Bias’s death was being felt as the act from 1986 was made more detrimental and harsh to drug offenders. The Bias law “included devastating mandatory minimum sentences [even for first-time offenders], required the participation of the military in narcotics control efforts, and included the infamous 100-1 Crack vs. Cocaine sentencing disparity where a mere 5 grams of crack would get the same punishment as 500 grams of powdered cocaine” (Modiano, 2016). Before Bias’s death, there weren’t strict laws that went after crack users. After his death, the laws were harsh on drug
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