Mothers of drug addicts in San Francisco upset with local leaders paid for a billboard in the city’s downtown that reads, “Famous the world over for our brains, beauty and, now, dirt-cheap fentanyl.”
The billboard, which cost $25,000, is meant to call attention to the city’s drug crisis that claimed 650 lives in 2021, according to NBC Bay Area.
These mothers, part of the group Mothers Against Drug Deaths (MADD), expressed their frustration with Democratic San Francisco Mayor London Breed who recently traveled to Europe where she pitched tourism to San Francisco.
“When the mayor went to Europe to ask for tourists to come, we felt like ‘Wow, how can you bring tourists into this environment, open drug market?’ It’s unsafe,” said Gina McDonald, a member of MADD, according to NBC.
In response to the billboard, a spokesperson for Mayor Breed said, “The Mayor agrees that we need to break up open-air drug dealing in San Francisco. Police officers are making arrests every day, and in the last few weeks an additional 20 officers have been added to the Tenderloin neighborhood to support our emergency response initiative,” ABC 7 News reported. (RELATED: Crack Pipe Distributors Received More Than $5 Million In Federal COVID Loans)
Some San Francisco businesses are against the billboard because they believe it will hurt local businesses and tourism, the outlet noted.
Downtown San Francisco currently has a sanctioned, open-air drug market where addicts can use fentanyl and other drugs without worrying about being arrested, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The move has drawn criticism from some, including author and California gubernatorial candidate, Michael Shellenberger.
San Francisco homeless services insider tells all
– No plan to deal with drug deaths
– Half of SF unsheltered “homeless” come from out of town to support their addiction
– SF homeless budget & policy controlled by radical anti-capitalist activistshttps://t.co/hFqQWr5rQR— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) November 29, 2021
Shellenberger — a political centrist who has accused Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic Party policies of not addressing the high crime, homelessness and drug deaths in San Francisco — claimed the city has no plans to deal with this dire crisis.
People say lack of housing forces local residents into the streets, but James says he came from Texas to San Francisco for the drugs, the non-enforcement of anti-camping laws, and the $820/month in welfare & food stamps. James says he sold fentanyl, 2 weeks ago, to a 15-year-old. pic.twitter.com/5qMr6tmlWs
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) February 9, 2022
In February, Shellenberger interviewed a homeless man in San Francisco who said the city’s permissive policies and generous welfare benefits were the reason drugs and crime are so out of control.