My 15 years and counting of law enforcement experience compels me to agree with Tancredo.
Bravo to Tom -- and to you -- for being honest about this!
People here are "shooting the messenger" because they don't like the message that "we've lost the war on drugs", however true it may be. On one hand, we say that we want "honest politicians", but on the other, we really hate it when politicians tell us what we don't want to hear.
The fact is that you can't save people from themselves -- if they want to get drugs, they will, and that's why there will always be "a drug trade" whether we like it or not. The only thing that the war on drugs has done has been to make that drug trade far more profitable and violent.
There is only so much violence that John Q Public is willing to tolerate on their streets to fight this "war" -- especially when we have tied the hands of law enforcement to do what's needed to ever win it.
It's a Catch 22 -- lose your civil rights to win a drug war, or lose a drug war to preserve your rights as citizens. Whatever potential we have to win one, loses us the other -- it isn't the way we wish it was, but it is the way it is. I'd rather admit losing the war on drugs, than I would sacrifice my rights as a citizen to the government -- it's a tough choice, but one that I ultimately must make.