Posted on 04/23/2023 6:12:48 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
San Francisco is only one of many once-beautiful cities that have gone to hell in a handbasket after years of supermajority Democratic rule and soft-on-crime policies. This largely explains the number of people fleeing the Bay area, leading to the lowest population seen there in more than a decade. But while homelessness and crime in general are making the city unlivable for many, one area where they are really being hit revolves around the ongoing fentanyl crisis. It seems like the drug is everywhere at this point and people are literally dropping dead in the streets. In response, Governor Gavin Newsom has resorted to something he previously refused to do. He’s sending in the National Guard to help shut down the flow of the deadly drug. (NY Post)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has directed the National Guard and California Highway Patrol to help combat San Francisco’s fentanyl trafficking crisis.
On Friday, Newsom announced an effort to have both agencies assist local authorities to address the rise in fentanyl use.
The agreement will focus on “dismantling fentanyl trafficking and disrupting the supply of the deadly drug in the city by holding the operators of large-scale drug trafficking operations accountable,” the Democratic governor’s office said.
The first step in dealing with a problem is admitting that you have one. The political optics of a move like this are terrible, but it would appear that Gavin Newsom has reached the point where he is being forced to act.
Reassigning some of the California Highway Patrol shouldn’t be an issue. They are already engaging in law enforcement operations, so bringing them to bear on the drug trafficking operations can’t hurt. But the National Guard (CalGuard) is another matter. They can’t go in and start busting drug traffickers without the Governor running into a Posse Comitatus problem.
But that doesn’t mean that the Guard can’t be of use. As long as they aren’t arresting or directly interfering with citizens, they can perform investigations and turn over information to the police. They can also be used in non-enforcement duties, freeing up more police officers to hit the streets.
A lot of these resources will be centered on the Tenderloin district. That area was literally declared to be a disaster zone by the Mayor last year. It’s where the homeless encampments are the thickest and all of the street-level crime that comes along with large homeless populations takes place. The city’s policies of ignoring open-air drug markets have come back to bite it. And now the CHP and the National Guard are being asked to help clean up the mess.
It’s a rare day when I have the opportunity to praise anything that Gavin Newsom says or does. But in this case, he’s made the right call and deserves at least some credit, though it is very, very long overdue. He had to swallow some of his political pride and admit how terribly wrong things have gone under his leadership, but if he manages to get the fentanyl problem under control, it will have been worth it.
Just another reason why drugs shouldn never have been legalized.
There is no magic dirt.
Detroit was the third largest city in America at one point.
Oh, Gavin is such a HERO..! (spit)
“Holding drug dealers accountable” if it were in fact to be done would involve the National Guard or the Army doing things the the law, never mind the Posse Comitatus Act, would have to overlook.
Grusome needs to send his NG to his border with the Mexican Cartels.
Yeah.
You're right on the mark there. And, it all started with legalizing pot and handing out free needles.
Drug abuse is not victimless crime, never was.
Yup, progressive,
“if he manages to get the fentanyl problem under control, it will have been worth it”!
Obviously this DUMBASS REPORTER doesn’t live in California!
Sounds like an excuse to bypass Constitutional protections and stop and detain anyone they like at any time. EVERYONE will be considered guilty of trafficking drugs. This is not to stop drugs, this is to toss the Constitution and free travel in the garbage.
So bad that your multi-million dollar home, surrounded by a wall, might be broken into by a friend “David,” who will hit you in the head with a hammer while you’re wearing boxers.
And you know, they won't be stopping, and detaining the people who should be stopped, and detained.
Newsom will order the Cali National Guard to help import and spread illegal aliens. He doesn’t gove a crap about the drugs and diseases they bring in.
If they would
Just.
Enforce the laws already on the books.
A thousand police make no difference if they just stand around.
Arrest. Prosecute. And imprison.
Then we would see change.
Yep. Absolutely. You hit it on the nailhead. They will be stopping without discretion and checking papers just like the Nazis.
Some worry Governor Nephew is going to be the next dimocRAT president. Me thinks not!
WHAT DIfference will it make?
SF prosecutors will NOT follow thru with charges & prison.
Self-solving problem.
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