SFist: Where Have All the Crackheads Gone?

1dershe

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:17:53 -0800

I see them alot on Ellis and Larkin and of course O'farrell past larkin and beyond. But you are right . The out in the open smokin has decreased to a minute amount. The presence of law enforcement has doubled as well. There are a lot more patrol cars in the area as well as undercover brothers. They also put up more and brighter lights in all the alley streets like olive behind the O farrell theatre. I used to call it SHIT Street because it seemed to be the # one place in the city for a while to go for a rock and a nice out in the open dookie! But no more, I guess I will have to find a new name for that street now! But it does make you wonder where they are camping.

erielhonan

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 04:17:28 -0800

PS - 1) what I'm saying isn't out of line with many treatment models. 2) even crazed baseheads should be treated with respect when they are being respectful, but with bluntness when they are being crazed baseheads. 3) when they do finally ask for help make sure they get it. 4) backsliding after they've excepted help can't be left to pass without consequences. We don't have enough carrot or enough stick for homeless addicts in San Francisco, so we have this tragic and angrifying status quo. And we're a liberal, compassionate city? Nah. You can't be effective with your bleeding heart on your sleeve. Makes your hands all slippery, and you can't get any real work done.

erielhonan

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 04:03:03 -0800

...most intensely suffering... let me tell you a little about addiction, which is the primary condition of the people we are talking about. addicts know that help is there. the key to becoming willing to accept the help is reaching a suitable bottom. some addicts have relatively high bottoms, and get clean and saner before ending up in the TL. some don't. perhaps not surprisingly schizophrenics and bipolars have a similar relationship to treatment. and guess what? a lot of those people self-medicate with alcohol and street drugs. and before you start boo-hooing about the homeless who are victims of circumstance, have no way of pulling themselves out of economic turmoil, aren't drug addicts, etc. at least those folks are respectful and clean, and aren't the ones we are talking about. addicts and psychotics on the street are tragic, and present a practically unsolvable problem. honestly the best way to get someone who knows they need help but won't take it to take it is to let them get to their suitable bottom. and hopefully they can get there without taking anyone else with them. but chances are they will leave a trail of damage on their path. and before you start calling me an insensitive conservative jackass (of which I am not the first two), let me tell you that I've been a member of AA for 10 years, and have on at least one occasion been probably no more than a few weeks away from being there with those folks. A partly-orchestrated campaign of humiliation on the part of the people around me got me to give up in time to avoid that consequence. so, no quarter for the drunken bums and crackheads. Let them suffer harder sooner, and maybe they'll see a reason to give it up.

Rah

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:16:10 -0800

Says the guy named 666.

666

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:05:37 -0800

This is one of the most insensitive collections of moron douchebag drivel I've seen on this blog. Are you all really that low on the social ladder that you derive some sadistic pleasure from making fun of some of the most intensely suffering people in the United States? Pathetic! You all need to get laid or something.

erielhonan

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:56:22 -0800

"the safety of their mud nests in the Mission" Yeah, I have one of those on the sidewalk in front of the property I rent. Not sure if brooming it out into the street or dousing the bedding with bleach is the best method of encouraging the dweller to migrate.

RobInSF

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:41:51 -0800

Much like the swallows of Capistrano, the crack heads of Tenderloin have flocked to the safety of their mud nests in the Mission.

katerose26

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:41:09 -0800

I'm sure they've all decided to turn their lives around and checked into rehab! /sarcasm

Xenu

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:38:15 -0800

Clearly they all sobered up, got their teeth fixed, bought suits, and now work at respectable jobs. Haha just kidding they probably all died.

Patrick Ledwith

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:10:58 -0800

There's at least one crackhead who wanders around between the Forest Hill station and 9th & Judah (whoda thunk?). On a nearly daily basis, someone* was breaking spark plugs off of my motorcycle. I'm not exactly in a gated community, but come on, up on the hill, in the Inner freakin Sunset? It was actually happening on such a regular schedule that I was able to narrow it down and finally approach him from out of the shadows. I was able to, shall we say, "discourage" him from returning. I figured he'd come back (with a cast on his arm [no comment]) and either light my bike on fire in retaliation, or not come back at all. Fortunately, it seems to be the latter. * Who else but a crackhead would break off the top half of a spark plug?

KWillets

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:39:47 -0800

Web 2.0.

auweia1

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:30:58 -0800

Where have all the crackheads gone? on down 6th Street Where have all the crackheads gone? Long time a hoe Where have all the crackheads gone? Girls have smoked them every one When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn? Pete Seger

georgio

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:19:02 -0800

They are all at the corner of Hayes & Baker (24/7 shouting for crack)

cowsaysmeow

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:15:20 -0800

It's raining crack! Hallelujah it's raining crack! Yeah yeah!

LisaLives

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:14:34 -0800

I'm old so I'm hearing "Where have all the flowers gone" sung by Joan Baez or somebody.

jacksevanroo

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:05:05 -0800

Damn you gentrification!!! The way things are going, all SF neighborhoods will be wiped clean of crackheads. We can't allow this tragedy to happen. Somebody think of the children!

icbalaam

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:43:14 -0800

Quite a few of them are summering on 8th Street at Howard.

auweia1

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:23:44 -0800

not on Stevenson...It's raining crack here!

cowsaysmeow

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:23:01 -0800

Me too! That song is going to be stuck in my head now, with slightly different lyrics (most of which I'll be making up throughout the day).

oskarv

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:05:01 -0800

I heard that "Where have all the cowboys gone?" song in my head as I read this. The Tenderloin is being gentrified. It's very easy to see. Streets closer to Van Ness and Sutter tend to be nicer than others. Polk St., for example, is barely even Tenderloin anymore. Larkin Street starting to go in that direction too. Post Street is pretty nice these days, and Geary is getting nice too depending on where you are on the street. Geary close to Union Square is still very ghetto, but west of Jones St. it's really not so bad. I still see crack being smoked all the time on my street, but even on Turk St. i have definitely noticed a decline in conspicuous crack/meth use.

lola la trailera

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:04:57 -0800

they are now at chris daly's house, along with a few crack dealers, supporting his cigarette-smoking ban proposal