The thing that originally annoyed me about the Rolling Stone piece was the lazy use of political commentary and stubby metaphors in place of actual analysis. Then I came across this piece in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
If law enforcement someday succeeds in breaking up established drug territories — the real sign of success from a metropolitan perspective — it could mean a similar spike in murders, as drug organizations vie for a larger market share.

"If the market here gets unstable down to the street, then the streets will get bloody," said Killorin, director of Atlanta High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA). "I don't think we're there yet."
Actually, we are. One of the points of the piece was the Head Fed in Atlanta clucking about how his "success" at drug interdiction is driving up crime. And whom, exactly, benefits from the fed's "success"? This is an analysis worth undertaking and the point that was completely missed by the Rolling Stone piece.