Opinions&Editorials
november 4, 2009
The Guardsman
Will you get a swine flu vaccination? Are you concerned about side effects? Jerome Saddler, 25 Business Major “Definitely I would take it especially after just getting over swine flu, it was horrible. No not really everything has side effects.”
Courtesy of MCT campus
Arrests will not solve drug problem By Jen Houghton Staff Writer
“People come here to buy drugs.” That’s what a San Francisco Police Department officer told me, shining his flashlight onto the floor and backseat of my car while two officers leaned in behind him. Sometimes I park in the ominous yet bustling Tenderloin district just to watch the goings-on. I’ve seen plenty of drug deals happen along the sidewalks there; so has new SFPD police Chief George Gascón. At a news conference, Gascón said he personally saw a drug deal while walking through the Tenderloin just a week prior to his being sworn in on Aug. 7. I had never been approached by police for simply sitting in my car, but it’s obvious Gascón’s recently implemented crack-down on open-air drug dealing in the Tenderloin has authorities taking a closer look at everything – including the interior of my vehicle. The war on drugs would be better fought in classrooms and hospitals than the recycling plant called the prison system. Anyone selling illegal drugs should be punished for it, but we shouldn’t get so carried away bailing out this boat that we neglect to patch the holes. Open-air drug dealing creates a dangerous environment, and I’m glad that Gascón is addressing the issue. But street dealers, who are easily replaced and often re-offend, are merely a component of a deeper problem, drug abuse. The SFPD has been so successful in their monthlong sting operation that the daily — yes, daily — prison population has increased by 12 percent, causing San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey to announce recently that he anticipates having to ask for an extra $2.5 million in funds before the fiscal year ends. The majority of the money will likely go to housing inmates. Some of it may go to SFPD officers working overtime on extra patrols and undercover operations. I’m assuming that absolutely none of it will go to diminishing the demand however. I hope Gascón’s sweep of low-level street dealers is hiding a deeper scheme. Recidivism rates for drug offenders nationwide have been fluctuating around 50 percent since the ‘90s. I hope this is just the first step in getting to the true root of the problem. However, the root of the problem isn’t the dealers.
Drug dealers are a symptom, not necessarily an origin. If we wipe out the porn industry, massage parlors, prostitution and strip clubs, will sexual deviance cease to exist? I think not. The ever-increasing abuse of prescription drugs goes to show there can still be a drug problem without street dealers. Yet, once a person is addicted, it’s only a matter of time before they take to the streets to find a bigger, more accessible fix. In the last ten years a new breed of anti-drug campaigns have been released that portray more accurate demographics in realistic drug-related scenarios, a great exercise in prevention. A remaining dilemma is what to do about those who are beyond the point of just saying no. I wonder how many social workers a budget of $2.5 million could employ, or how much treatment it could fund. Instead of paying overtime to officers, social workers could patrol the streets offering discreet, respectful treatment options inhabitants of the Tenderloin could afford. Some citizens whose lives are well put-together will argue it’s futile to push rehabilitation and tools for success on addicts who seem determined to destroy their lives, but from the government — the ultimate commanding voice in this drug war — that attitude is hypocritical. When it became clear that we could not eliminate every member of the Taliban, the U.S. focused harder on building Afghanistan’s strength to stand against them. Yes, try to snuff out the bad guy first, but when you can’t get rid of all the bad guys — and they’ll never get rid of all the drug dealers — then focus on strengthening the victim. It’s too early to tell if the crack-down in the Tenderloin will fizzle out as officers become complacent or if it is foreshadowing of a bigger change to come. I have hope that with Gascón we may see a refreshing way of addressing the war on drugs. “We cannot arrest ourselves out of crime,” Gascón said at the news conference. “Not everybody can be arrested. We must create thoughtful re-entry programs. It’s naive, insane, to release someone with no marketable skills and a serious drug habit and expect them not to re-offend.” I’ll be watching closely, Gascón, but definitely not from a parked car in the Tenderloin. Email: jhoughton@theguardsman.com
Molly O’Grady, 18 Undeclared “I don’t know what to think about it. I know you take it up the nose. I do not believe in medicine so I don’t think I would take it unless the flu became a really bad epidemic. Then I would get it.” Cory Stein, 20 Physiology Major “I felt very paranoid about it, but I took the vaccine. I don’t believe the vaccine was properly tested.”
Jessica Ramos, 19 Criminology Major “I already got the swine flu vaccine. They did not tell me about any side effects other then I could get the flu. I told my 13-yearold brother to get the vaccine.”
Jang Park, 30 Undeclared “Of course I will take it, but I don’t take it seriously because no one around me has [swine flu]. I has the flu shot many times before with no side effects, so I don’t care.”
Alexis Bersonda, 19 Undeclared “Sure, it’s like any other flu. It would be fine to take the swine flu vaccine. All vaccines tend to have side effects when it first comes out, as long as it does not kill you it’s alright.”
Pablo Castro, 19 Emergency Medical Technician Major “Yes, I guess ... I didn’t care about it at all because I don’t have it. I will see what happens within the first three months of taking the vaccine.”
By Ramsey El-Qare
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