A lot of people don't understand why nabbing narc offenders makes for a rough day at the office for law enforcement. Most crimes are relatively controllable. We've got a lot of murders, but cops get on the case and take care of business. Ditto for burglars and embezzlers.
Trouble is, drugs are different.
No matter how big the latest dope bust, police report another one, even bigger, two weeks later. And far more drugs hit the street than get seized by the men in striped pants, you can be sure. If anything, drug use has risen immensely since the initial crackdown under President Nixon. While you may feel like you've been mugged if you've had a bad trip, dealing or using drugs is fundamentally different than crime in which there is a bona fide victim. Take a two-party pot pitch.