Inside a San Francisco Drug Den

Inside a San Francisco Drug Den
A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chemist checks confiscated powder containing fentanyl at the DEA Northeast Regional Laboratory in New York on Oct. 8, 2019. Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images
Tony Hall
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Commentary

To anyone vaguely familiar with the colorful history of San Francisco in Victorian times, the mere mention of an “opium den” conjures up visions of dimly lit enclaves deep in the catacombs of Chinatown where hundreds of people languished about in self-induced euphoric stupors.

Tony Hall
Tony Hall
Author
Tony Hall is a former supervisor for San Francisco's District 7. He has held executive and administrative positions in seven different city departments in all three branches of government over a 33-year period.
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