billswift comments on Open Thread, January 15-31, 2012 - Less Wrong
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In fact your interpretation is wrong. It is not "the law-enforcement system "believes"" that blacks use more. It is that blacks are more often dealers, and it is easier to get a conviction or plea bargain as a user than as a dealer, since the latter requires intent as well as possession and will be fought harder because of higher penalties.
I suspect that blacks are not over-represented as drug dealers. Rather, blacks live in urban areas, which can be policed at lower cost than rural areas for population density reasons.