WASHINGTON (AP) -- They were indelible images of the cocaine world of the 1970s and '80s: Rich yuppies and white suburbanites partying down with a couple of lines of "blow." Stockbroker Charlie Sheen snorting up in the limo in "Wall Street." Woody Allen's sneeze in "Annie Hall."
More than 30 years later, the image remains but the reality of coke in the United States has shifted significantly. Long portrayed as a white crime, Hispanics now make up the overwhelming majority -- 60 percent -- of federal offenders facing powder cocaine charges.
In fact, data show, more Hispanics than whites or blacks have been sentenced on federal powder charges as far back as 1992. Law enforcement officials say that's because federal agents almost exclusively pursue cocaine traffickers from South America and Mexico instead of end-of-the-line U.S. consumers.
Channel: Do No Evil Tags: Cocaine Powder Yuppies
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