It may not come as a surprise, but the Tenderloin just happens to be a place where illegal drugs are sold. What may be more surprising is that a growing majority of those drugs were at one point legal.

Tenderloin Captain Joe Garrity said Wednesday that street sales of pharmaceuticals are becoming more prevalent than heroin or crack cocaine, especially on lower Leavenworth Street. And these amateur pharmacists are no angels, Garrity said. Most have criminal histories longer than this guy.

“We’re basically talking about the Tenderloin Hall of Shame here,” Garrity said.

So, what are police doing about it? They’re having an SFPD officer liaison with the Drug Enforcement Agency, and they’re planning on tracking down the doctors who prescribe the drugs that end up on the street.


-Brent Begin