Despite rigorous measures, drug markets still exist in San Francisco

More than a year after the crackdown on the illegal drug market began in San Francisco, consumers in the Tenderloin district report that they can still get hard drugs on Market Street between Sixth and Seventh, even if it is no longer quite as easy.

Residents say there has been minimal improvement over the past year at the problematic intersections, which continue to attract crowds, but police have hailed the crackdown as a success, pointing to numerous arrests and the seizure of several kilos of drugs.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, between May 29, 2023, and August 14, 2024, police seized 242.2 kilograms of illegal narcotics, including 110.6 kilograms of fentanyl and 58.6 kilograms of methamphetamine. During this period, 1,224 dealers and 1,526 drug users were arrested.

Of the 2,636 people taken to jail as of July 31 as part of the raid, only 14 were interested in treatment, a San Francisco Sheriff's Department spokesman said.