Skip to main content
The San Francisco Standard
NewslettersNewsletters
News

Scenes from Seventh and Market, the center of San Francisco’s drug crisis

People congregate near the intersection of 7th and Market in downtown San Francisco on Oct. 16, 2023.
People congregate near Seventh and Market streets, an intersection known for the human suffering many have come to associate with Downtown San Francisco. | Source: Loren Elliott for The Standard
By The Standard StaffPhotographs by Jason Henry for The Standard and Loren Elliott for The Standard

The Standard's photo team spent hours last month in and around Seventh and Market streets, perhaps the most troubled corner in San Francisco.

As part of an in-depth story on the intersection, our photojournalists captured the open-air drug trade, the black market for merchandise and hapless tourists wandering through it all. The Standard found that since June, city, state and federal authorities have poured resources into the area in an attempt to stamp out growing lawlessness, which has become a focus of the city’s current political battles.

Despite such efforts, the city is on track to set a record for fatal drug overdoses this year, and 20% of reported drug crimes in 2023 have been logged within a block of the intersection.

At least eight government agencies have put manpower into the effort, which also includes park rangers, Public Works employees and nonprofit Urban Alchemy workers.

Here's a look at the conditions in and around this high-profile corner, just a short walk from City Hall:

A man is passed out in a building alcove on Seventh Street in San Francisco. Some 20% of reported drug crimes in 2023 have been logged within a block of Seventh and Market streets. | Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
Men talk on a street.
A member of the Homeless Outreach Team speaks to a man during a sweep of tents on Mission and Seventh streets. At least eight government agencies have put manpower into the effort to stamp out crime in the area and assist people with addiction issues. | Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
People walk along Market Street in San Francisco. The city’s main public library, the Orpheum Theatre, the Asian Art Museum and UC Law are all nearby.  | Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
A person sits with their belongings on Mission Street as city workers clean the sidewalk. The area has long had a reputation for crime and drugs, though conditions seemed to be improving prior to the pandemic. | Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
A “Fentalife!” billboard on Seventh Street is part of a campaign sponsored by advocacy group TogetherSF that aims to pressure officials to do more to combat rampant open-air drug use in the city. | Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
A person lies in an ambulance. Their face is out of frame.
A person lies in the back of an ambulance at the intersection of Seventh and Market streets. The city is on track to set a record for fatal drug overdoses this year. | Source: Loren Elliott for The Standard
A man in a wheelchair sits in U.N. Plaza in San Francisco. The area draws people for all kinds of reasons, from its public restroom and open space to the easy access to drugs and transportation. | Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
San Francisco police have arrested 1,749 people since May in the crackdown operations aiming to shut down open-air drug markets in the Tenderloin and SoMa neighborhoods.
A San Francisco Police Department vehicle cruises past people congregating near Seventh and Market streets. Many say conditions have improved during the day, but after dark, the intersection remains a mass of suffering and illegal activity. | Source: Loren Elliott for The Standard
A man hunched over on the steps in UN Plaza in San Francisco on October 13, 2023.
A man hunches over on steps in U.N. Plaza in San Francisco. The area has been known for decades as a magnet for crime and drugs, but conditions spiraled downward after the pandemic hit. | Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
Two people standing. One in a wheelchair.
A person assists another in using drugs near Seventh and Market streets. Data shows the intersection is at the center of San Francisco police drug enforcement activity. | Source: Loren Elliott for The Standard
A BART police officer enters the Civic Center station at U.N. Plaza in San Francisco. Some who live or work in the neighborhood credit the stepped-up enforcement in recent months for a palpable improvement during the day. | Source: Jason Henry for The Standard

The San Francisco Police Department argues that the problems of open-air drug trafficking and illegal sales at Seventh and Market and in many other locations did not arise overnight and will not be solved in a day or a week.

In June, the city opened its multiagency Drug Market Agency Coordination Center, which aimed to coordinate enforcement and reduce the number of open-air drug markets in the area.

City park rangers, who have been tasked with enforcing park rules at U.N. Plaza, have issued 74 citations since Feb. 1.

The city says it has also cracked down on illegal vending but that enforcement has come almost entirely in the form of verbal warnings. 

Some of those who live or work in the neighborhood argue that it consists of more than just "people doing drugs." John McCormick, 30, who works for a nonprofit in the neighborhood, argued that it’s a vibrant, multicultural area filled with law students, business people and families.

McCormick isn’t happy with the city’s recent crackdown. He echoed the oft-repeated criticism that such efforts just push the problems elsewhere.

Chris Smith, 53, a methamphetamine user who gets around in a wheelchair, agreed that stepped-up arrests in the area won’t solve much.

“It ain’t gonna change. There’s too many people,” he said. “They can’t keep up with us.”

Filed Under

City HallCrimeDowntownDrugsHomelessnessNewsOverdosesSFPD