Philadelphia police target drug users in Kensington – Workers World

Both on International Overdose Awareness Day (August 31) and now during Recovery Month (September), there were numerous attacks on drug users in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Kensington continues to be attacked by NIMBY (Not in my backyard) Forces of Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker and City Council member Quetcy Lozada, whose goal is to eradicate the drug-using community. There is blood on their hands, and that blood will continue to flow until people stand up and tell them to stop it!

On September 4, police arrested about 34 people on drug charges and outstanding warrants. One of the arrested people, Amanda Cahill, died in her cell on September 7, presumably from an overdose. According to a report in Metro Philadelphia, a nurse visited Cahill at 1:00 a.m. and Cahill said she was fine. Later, at 7:45 a.m., she was found unconscious and died, despiteCardiopulmonary resuscitation is performed.

Although Cahill had a warrant out for drug possession and had been arrested again for drug possession, she was human. People do not deserve to be in prison, especially for the mere possession of substances they have become dependent on for survival.

Like many people, Cahill began using “illegal” drugs after being prescribed legal medications. While it is not known what prescription opioids she was taking to begin with, it is entirely reasonable to blame the executives who sold those drugs for profit for the chain of events that led to her death. After she got off prescription drugs, she switched to heroin, which in turn became rare when fentanyl analogues became the main drug in the drug supply.

The loss of Amanda Cahill has left two children without a mother. The criminal injustice system and the drug manufacturers are responsible for their loss.

Police attacks due to drug overdose

The Philadelphia Police Department – ​​which knew about the International Overdose Awareness Campaign –yes for yesrs – decided to attack, claiming that people could not hand out items at the event. Boxes of Narcan (the overdose reversal drug, also called Naloxone) and clean clothes were handed out, as many people in Kensington are homeless and do not have clean clothes. In past years, the police have allowed this event to take place.

What has changed is the city council and the Kensington Caucus. Mayor Parker has stated that she opposes and detests chaotic drug users, those whose drug use is uncontrolled. They claim to be sympathetic to the plight of local residents and say they want these users to get “help” in jail, but their actions show that their goal is gentrification of the neighborhood, which for them starts with removing the homeless and chaotic drug users.

Politicians want to ban mobile harm reduction units

Councilmember Lozada has decided to focus on services that improve and save the lives of chaotic drug users in Philadelphia's Seventh District. She wants to ban the presence of mobile harm reduction units in residential areas and near recreation centers. Anyone operating such a mobile unit could then be fined $500. Another bill targets “littering” near these mobile sites and would fine individuals another $500.

Lozada claims she wants to work with the municipality, services and the mayor to create areas where these units can help drug users. In reality, she wants to clean up the neighborhood of chaotic drug users. She claims these units have caused “disruptive behavior” and “public safety problems,” but they only operate where these drug users congregate. Simply moving the vans won't do much, as some users will not change their consumption location just to find a van.

The other members of the Kensington Caucus, Councilmembers Mark Squilla, Mike Driscoll and Jim Hagerty, support this bill. This is not surprising, since they serve as both Lozada's lackeys and agents of developers seeking to transform Kensington into a hip, gentrified neighborhood that can be exploited by real estate interests.

Between the raids that killed Amanda Cahill, the attacks on World Drug and Substance Abuse Awareness Day memorials, and the attacks on mobile harm reduction units, there is a common thread: contempt for chaotic drug users and contempt for the people who want to help or love them.

We – revolutionaries, chaotic drug users, active and recovering, and the families of drug users – must come together in Philadelphia and push back against these reactionary attacks. Someone you may love depends on it.

This article is dedicated to Amanda, Tyler, Paul and many others who have died because of the drug scourge.