By Dennis Romero, Sept. 29, 2014, Laweekly.com

Used to be that being successfully prosecuted for holding a decent quantity of crack could put you behind bars for up to five years.

No longer. California Gov. Jerry Brown last night signed a bill that will make possession of crack and possession of powder cocaine for sale the same crime, both worth two to four years in state prison.

That's no walk in the park, but drug decriminalization proponents are hailing the new law as one giant step for justice. Here's why:

Critics have long said that longer sentences for crack possession discriminate against African Americans and other people of color because the "rock" form of the drug is more prevalent in minority communities.

At the same time, white folks, who appear to prefer the powder form, have received lower sentences. It's called sentencing disparity. And whites are much less likely to be arrested for drugs in the first place, despite greater use rates.

The Drug Policy Alliance says a whopping 98 percent of those in prison for crack-related crime in California are minorities. More than three-fourths are African American.

L.A.-area state Sen. Holly Mitchell's California Fair Sentencing Act, or SB 1010, eliminates the justice system's discrimination when it comes to crack and powder.