San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey, a recovered addict himself, has issued a stern call to action to address the rampant open-air drug usage plaguing the city.
He has demanded swift and decisive measures, including nightly arrests numbering at least 100, involuntary holds, and compulsory detox and treatment. In a letter penned on Friday, Dorsey gave city public safety agencies a 30-day deadline to formulate a comprehensive plan to combat this crisis.
The urgent call to action comes in the wake of escalating drug-related criminal activity on a quarter-mile stretch of 6th Street in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood, as reported by The Post Millennial. This area has been a hotbed for open-air drug use and crime, with an estimated 200 individuals partaking in illicit drug use on any given night.
Dorsey asserted that the time for direct confrontation of this issue is overdue. He advocated for mass arrests of drug users, followed by their placement in "compulsory detox and treatment" as a life-saving measure. He called for a minimum of 100 arrests per night and accused the city of fostering drug addiction.
"Most of the work that we're doing is focused on drug dealers, and I think that's something that needs to continue, but we also need to be making criminal justice interventions in public drug use," Dorsey conveyed to ABC 7 News. He emphasized the need for arrests of drug users, with the intent of transforming these criminal justice interventions into medical and life-saving ones.
In his letter, Dorsey outlined that the proposed plan would hold "those estimated to be engaging in drug-related lawlessness criminally accountable." He underscored the urgency of new approaches to restore order to the city's streets, reduce San Francisco's appeal as a hub for drug use and dealing, and intervene in life-threatening behavior.
Dorsey, who has personally experienced the transformative power of recovery and drug treatment, expressed his belief in the potential of court-mandated treatment. He urged the city to boldly move beyond practices that have amounted to drug enablism and neglectful cruelty. He proposed an approach aimed at removing drug-related offenders from the streets and ideally placing them into drug treatment.
Dorsey criticized the city's longstanding "harm reduction" approach, expressing personal offense as a former addict. He highlighted the changing landscape of drug use, stating, "What may have worked in the heroin era is not working in the fentanyl era. We are facing drugs that are deadlier than ever before in human history."
The letter, addressed to the San Francisco Police Department, San Francisco Sheriff's Office, San Francisco Fire Department, San Francisco Department of Public Health, and the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, demands a plan for large-scale arrests and involuntary holds within 30 days. It's a bold move, one that underscores the gravity of the drug crisis in San Francisco and the urgent need for a robust response.
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