I don't think anyone has ever claimed that "the war on drugs is based on racism" full stop. The word "racism" has become passe for many academics and writers. i.e.:
"Just as the capitalist system is not a capitalist plot, so racial oppression is not the work of "racists." It is maintained by the principal institutions of society, including the schools (which define "excellence"), the labor market (which defines "employment"), the legal system (which defines "crime"), the welfare system (which defines "poverty"), the medical industry (which defines "health"), and the family (which defines "kinship"). Many of these institutions are administered by people who would be offended if accused of complicity with racial oppression. It is reinforced by reform programs that address problems traditionally of concern to the "left" - for example, federal housing loan guarantees. The simple fact is that the public schools and the welfare departments are doing more harm to black children than all the "racist" groups combined." - Noel Ignatiev, http://racetraitor.org/abolishthepoint.html
I agree with the last phrase, but probably not for the reason the author intends. I admit though I didn't read the article beyond the first page - and your quote, of course - as, frankly, it contained too much wrong from the start that I didn't want to waste any more of my time on it. Reading Ignatiev's profile, he certainly looks like a person way out of the mainstream and with good deal of cookiness in him, so I'm not sure he's a good example of a mainstream academic or writer.
I think also there is confusing equality of possibilities with equality of outcomes. The outcomes are demonstrably unequal. But is this because medical industry or welfare system are racial? From what I see, some systems are now geared to give unfair advantage to minority players willing to game the system (google "Pigford settlement"). However, as I said, the overall outcomes are still very unequal. I think there are institutional causes for it, but I think the causes are not racial now (though historically they were) but viewing it through exclusively racial lens today only makes it worse, as it makes people take wrong decisions (i.e. vote for corrupt and incompetent, but racially suitable politician, instead of honest and competent one of a wrong race). Same with regard to war on drugs - if we decide it's about racism, we should then spend our efforts on ensuring persons of all races are equally punished for equal crimes. Which is exactly wrong thing to do in this situation - instead we should spend our efforts on ensuring nobody is punished for something that should not be a crime in the first place!
"Just as the capitalist system is not a capitalist plot, so racial oppression is not the work of "racists." It is maintained by the principal institutions of society, including the schools (which define "excellence"), the labor market (which defines "employment"), the legal system (which defines "crime"), the welfare system (which defines "poverty"), the medical industry (which defines "health"), and the family (which defines "kinship"). Many of these institutions are administered by people who would be offended if accused of complicity with racial oppression. It is reinforced by reform programs that address problems traditionally of concern to the "left" - for example, federal housing loan guarantees. The simple fact is that the public schools and the welfare departments are doing more harm to black children than all the "racist" groups combined." - Noel Ignatiev, http://racetraitor.org/abolishthepoint.html