'Snitch' fails to tug the heart strings

In America, the government fought back in the war against drugs by tightening federal policy so that anyone found in possession of narcotics could be persuaded to testify against friends in order to reduce their sentence.

The logic was that low-level dealers and users would avoid a lengthy spell behind bars by surrendering the names of people higher up the supply chain, allowing authorities to cut off the head of the hydra.