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San Francisco Druggies Unionize

Drug-Users Union aims to give marginalized a political voice

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 18, 2010 11:34 AM CDT
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(Newser) – San Francisco is a union town, so why not a union for…drug users? The San Francisco Drug-Users Union has been formed with $35,000 from the Drug Policy Alliance to give the addled a say in local government, a move that has also been taken in other big cities like Vancouver and New York. This is “a set of folks who don’t have a say in policies that have a direct impact on them,” a DPA official tells SF Weekly.

The union would essentially serve “the same purpose as the Coalition on Homelessness does,” she says, as “often, what’s really going on is, they’re poor.” Drug-users are stigmatized, demonized, and more often than not just ignored, she adds. “The intent is to organize drug-users and help them have a voice and a say in local politics.” Will the union push for medical—not criminal—treatment, and some sort of amnesty? “Probably all of the above.”

Heroin.
Heroin.   (Shutterstock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 38 comments
Revolt189
Mar 19, 2010 9:29 PM CDT
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this...
serious
Mar 19, 2010 7:48 PM CDT
And if politicians or government won't meet their demands, what are they going to do - go kill themselves with drugs?

Every absurdity has a champion to defend it.
Oliver Goldsmith
sanagalrc
Mar 19, 2010 4:03 PM CDT
Drug legislation has existed in this country for about 100 years. You know where we were before that? Children and women were being raped and murdered and maimed and recruited into the ranks of helpless junkie zombies so that Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein could turn them into PEDOPHILES to take over OUR COUNTRY because of his hatred of our FREEDOMS. Thankfully we executed our right to bare arms and fought back, and the glorious Ronald Wilson Reagan led us out of the depression and we became, once again, the land of the free. *crying eagle*

 
San Francisco • public health • amnesty • drug use • union • drug users

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