| Wow. The times really are changing — even incoming Democrats are getting MAGA. If everybody just improves a little… |
...where God struck dead Anton LaVey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964...Supervisor Matt Dorsey has called for immediate measures to address open-air drug usage, including at least 100 nightly arrests, involuntary holds, and mandatory treatment and detox. Dorsey, a former addict, stated in a letter dated Friday that city public safety agencies had 30 days to develop a plan of action.
The demand follows the ongoing drug-driven criminal activity on the quarter mile stretch of 6th Street in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood, which has had high levels of open-air drug use and crime. Authorities estimate at least 200 people are lighting up illicit drugs in the area on any given night.
Dorsey said it is past time to confront the issue head-on, which is why he is advocating for mass arrests of drug users and placing them in "compulsory detox and treatment" to save their lives. He wanted to see no less than 100 arrests per night and accused the city of enabling drug addiction, according to the letter.
"Historically, most of the work that we're doing is focused on drug pushers, 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 told ABC 7 News. "We do need to be making arrests of drug users with an eye toward making sure that any criminal justice intervention we make is a medical and life-saving intervention."
Dorsey stated in the letter that the plan of intent would hold "those estimated to be engaging in drug-related lawlessness criminally accountable."
"As we begin the new year, new approaches are urgently needed to restore order to our streets, to diminish San Francisco's attraction as a destination city for drug use and drug dealing, and to make lifesaving interventions in behavior that's deadlier and more costly than ever before," said Dorsey, who acknowledged his journey recovering from drug addiction.
"I know I'm not alone among recovery community members in believing strongly in the life-changing possibilities of recovery and drug treatment - including court-mandated treatment. Like many other San Franciscans, in long-term recovery and otherwise, I think it's past time for our City to move boldly beyond practices that have amounted to drug enablism and neglectful cruelty," he wrote. Dorsey asked for an approach to "get drug-related offenders off the streets - and optimally into drug treatment - rather than simply moved to different streets."