After spending three years of my life looking into this, I am more convinced than ever that the U.S. government's responsibility for the drug problems in South Central Los Angeles and other inner cities is greater than I ever wrote in the newspaper.

Webb's reporting generated fierce controversy and the San Jose Mercury News backed away from the story effectively ending Webb's career as a mainstream media journalist. Journalist George Sanchez states that "the CIA's internal investigation by Inspector General Frederick Hitz vindicated much of Gary's reporting and observes that despite the campaign against Webb "the government eventually admitted to more than Gary had initially reported" over the years. Though he was criticized and outcast from the mainstream journalism community his reportage was eventually vindicated as many of his findings have since been validated: since Webb's death both the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune have defended his "Dark Alliance" series.