San Francisco Needs a Hamsterdam

For as long as it exists--for it only lasts as long as the city fathers are unaware of it--Hamsterdam successfully concentrates drug dealing and buying in the two-block area. Crime in the district is dramatically reduced and, because police supervise physical safety in the zone, deaths from overdose decline significantly. Any dealing outside Hamsterdam is dealt with harshly by the Baltimore police.

The Wire is fiction, of course. It is also the only depiction of Harm Reduction I have seen on TV. But, why does it have to be fiction?

One weekend last month there were three drug-related murders in the Tenderloin, one of which was a 16 year-old boy. In the past 13 months, there were at least six murders in the block of Ellis between Jones and Leavenworth. Tenants living in nearby supported housing are fearful to leave their rooms at night. The Tenderloin Task Force of SFPD states that there is a turf war between gangs from Oakland and Richmond over territory in the Tenderloin.

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