drug dens

The City Turns a Blind Eye Seattle’s latest out-of-control drug encampment is the former Joann Fabrics site in Ballard. Business owners and neighbors say Mayor Bruce Harrell and Councilmember Dan Strauss have totally ignored this problem since this is happening on private property. But dozens of drug addicts have trashed the area and all the crime and chaos from this location keeps spilling into the side streets. Meanwhile, one guy living in a tent told me he’s rejecting free housing because the provider requires all dogs to be neutered. Make it make sense.

Happening Now Just a quick bus ride away from the drug dens of 3rd Ave & Pike St, you have Little Saigon in Seattle’s Chinatown-ID. This Asian American community gets zero relief from the criminals and addicts destroying their neighborhood. Mayor Bruce Harrell had nearly four years to handle a few city blocks in the CID. So far, it’s an epic failure in leadership. The current plan is not working.

New As Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell wraps up his latest State of the City address, the drug crisis downtown remains a massive black eye with no end in sight. Want proof? Early Tuesday morning, I walked the area around 3rd Ave & Pike St. and it was zombie land. No cops, no outreach, just human suffering. While the drug dens are less visible during the day, the problem is just being moved around. So it all comes back at night. Everyone who lives and works downtown knows this. The current plan is a band-aid solution because the root causes are not being addressed. There’s gotta be interventions and better treatment options before we hand out any more free drug supplies. Read More ›

Stay Out of Drug Area (SODA) Seattle leaders want to wipe out the open-air drug dens and black markets of stolen goods that are thriving in certain parts of the city. Will it work? New Legislation:“Stay Out of Drug Area (SODA) – authorizes the court to prohibit a defendant from entering a designated zone if they commit a drug-related criminal offense in that zone. SODA orders may be issued by the court either as a condition of pre-trial release, or a condition of sentence if convicted.”