① The city known as ‘Zombie Street’ in the U.S.
Kensington Street in Northeast Philadelphia, U.S., is known as ‘Zombie Street’ overflowing with drug addicts. It’s a region where even the government has given up on regulation, presenting a grave situation. This nearly 2-mile-long street is filled with drug addicts.
Even in residential areas away from Kensington Street, there are drug needles scattered all over the place.
Recently, it was reported that the government distributes free drug syringes here. This is to provide safe needles to prevent infectious diseases, as they can’t control the drug addicts.
On July 3rd, Pastor Chae Wang-kyu, volunteering in Kensington’s drug street for 27 years, shared the local situation on the CBS Radio Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show. Pastor Chae said that on Kensington Street, 8,000 to 10,000 people wander the streets to use drugs. He mentioned that they inject drugs 20 to 50 times daily and even carry around 100 doses of the narcotic painkiller fentanyl.
In particular, Pastor Chae surprised many by saying that Philadelphia distributes syringes on a city-wide scale. He stated, “Friends who use fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine share one needle, which poses a risk of spreading AIDS, Hepatitis C, and B.” He explained that even a government program distributes one syringe per person.
Upon hearing Pastor Chae’s words, the host questioned, “I’m laughing in disbelief. Instead of arresting people, are they distributing safe syringes?” Pastor Chae confirmed, “Yes, that’s correct,” and explained, “The police protect the safety of those who do not use drugs. The government has almost given up on arresting drug addicts”. He added that private companies and organizations are making great efforts to protect and treat drug addicts.
② Lack of drug addict management
Philadelphia, U.S., operates a Syringe Service Program (SSP). The Philadelphia Inquirer, a local daily, reported that if used syringes are brought in, they are exchanged for sterilized ones. Even if you don’t have a syringe to exchange, new syringes are distributed for free.
Last year, the city distributed 36,000 syringes, with a maximum of 750 people receiving syringes daily.
The person in charge of operating the Syringe Service Program predicted that the demand this year would increase more than threefold.
On Kensington Street, people staggering from drugs and drug dealers are intertwined in every alley. People addicted to drugs walk with their joints bent like zombies and can’t control their bodies, collapsing on the street. This place is called ‘Zombie Street’ because of fentanyl, known as the ‘zombie drug.’
Fentanyl is a painkiller developed to alleviate the pain of severe patients. However, fentanyl has started to circulate as a drug. Fentanyl can paralyze the brains of drug addicts, and taking more than 2mg can be fatal.
Although police are stationed everywhere on this street, they cannot stop the actions of drug addicts. This area started to be rumored as a place where the police do not crack down on drug addicts, and drug addicts flocked here. Even teenagers have taken over the street. As drug addicts flocked, murders and assaults have not stopped.
Kensington Street has been branded as a notorious crime hotspot in Philadelphia. According to a survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of deaths due to fentanyl in 2021 was about 75,000. This is a 23% increase from the previous year and triples the number of gun deaths.
③ Philadelphia missed its golden time
Philadelphia was the capital of the U.S. in the 18th century and the place where the first civilization in the U.S. took root. Philadelphia is still one of the top five cities in the U.S. However, the city now faces a crisis due to drugs, to the extent that it bears the stigma of being a city of fentanyl.
Following fentanyl, the number of people using the animal anesthetic xylazine as a drug has surged. Developed in 1962 as an animal anesthetic, drug addicts in the U.S. use it with fentanyl. Philadelphia has the most severe spread of xylazine in the U.S. The National Institute of Standards and Technology under the U.S. Department of Commerce detected xylazine in over 90% of the drug samples collected from the streets of Philadelphia last year.
Especially after COVID-19, the number of drug addicts has increased even more. Many drug addicts still occupy Kensington Street in Philadelphia.
By. Kim Min Jae
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