By RACHEL BLUTH and JEREMY B. WHITE
05/24/2023 07:13 PM EDT
Presented by Heat Pump Nation
LEGISLATORS ON DRUGS: Fentanyl is tearing through California and the nation — killing people, increasing homelessness and despair, while turning parts of some cities into hellscapes of disaster.
There’s not much dispute about the existence of the problem, which just seems to get worse and worse. What to do about it is dividing legislators, as was made clear in today’s joint session on the crisis.
Few lawmakers, it seems, want Drug War 2.0 — but even some Democrats are now conceding that looking the other way isn’t working, either.
While much of the hearing focused on the need for more public education, overdose prevention measures and treatment, there’s clearly an appetite for some kind of increased law enforcement efforts.
“I’m a Democrat, I’m all for investing in communities and drug treatment,” Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi said. “But we need to have some balance.”
He seemed to be echoing San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who drew praise from moderate allies on the Board of Supervisors this week as she called for a more forceful response to a crisis that has fueled a dystopian downward spiral in the Tenderloin. “Compassion is killing people,” Breed said.
While proud of the city’s treatment and prevention programs, she decried a lack of “accountability” and said a stronger approach is needed.
“Force is going to have to be a part of it, whether...
A TOP police officer has been reported to a policing watchdog for making “false and inflammatory statements” about Palestine marches. The Palestine Coalition, an umbrella group which organises dem...