Larkin & Canaparo on The Fallacy of Systemic Racism in the War on Drugs

Paul J. Larkin and GianCarlo Canaparo (The Heritage Foundation and The Heritage Foundation) have posted The Fallacy of Systemic Racism in the American 'War on Drugs' (Chapman Law Review, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

Critics of the criminal justice system have repeatedly charged it with systemic racism. A companion Article to this one, which will be published in the same Volume, considers and rejects that claim in the context of the criminal justice system in general. The claim reaches its apogee, however, in the specific context of the “War on Drugs.” This Article builds on the first and considers whether the country's approach to drug crime is systemically racist. It also considers whether the solutions proffered by proponents of the theory of systemic racism would cure the problems they identify. The answer to both questions is no. No matter how systemic racism is defined, the War on Drugs does not fit the definition. Additionally, many of the proffered solutions would, in fact, harm the very people they aim to help. Ultimately, the claim that the War on Drugs is systemically racist is unjustified and should be rejected.