Unique approach by GOP mayoral nominee could DESTROY Philly drug market

Republican Philadelphia mayoral nominee David Oh reportedly plans to use drones to combat the city’s drug markets if elected into office.

Of particular concern is the open-air drug market and crime in the Kensington neighborhood.

“Kensington has gained international infamy for its excessive public drug consumption. The area has become a hotspot for xylazine — a veterinary tranquilizer known as the zombie drug or tranq — which was found in over 90% of drug samples tested in Philadelphia in 2021, according to city data,” Fox News reported earlier this month.

“In Kensington’s open-air drug market, users were passed out on the pavement, covered in scabbing or oozing flesh wounds from xylazine with fresh blood running down their arms from injecting themselves with needles. Some users were spotted wandering around in a stupor through a busy road,” according to the conservative network.

Philadelphia, Kensington

This livestream on YT is just insane, and really sad.

Observation: People keep approaching the white male sitting down on the right for a quick hand-to-hand pic.twitter.com/ltPpCOnoHC

— PhillyCrimeUpdate (@PhillyCrimeUpd) August 23, 2023

Oh is hoping to eliminate the drug market, period.

“If we get rid of Kensington Avenue as a place that exists in this region, the better off people will be,” he told Fox News this week.

But how does he plan to go about eliminating the drug market? Reportedly with drones.

“The Republican nominee, if elected, plans to use drones to detect illegal behavior and to empower police so they can aggressively make arrests and demolish the drug haven,” Fox News notes.

Local residents “have seen this failure” of local policies, Oh said, adding, “They’re disgusted by it, and they find it to be absolutely against common sense. People are dying for a different approach.”

A non-Democrat approach, to be exact.

Of course, to hear current Democrat Mayor Jim Kenney tell it, he’s equally concerned about the drug market.

“We are committed to identifying resolving [sic] encampments and addressing public nuisances on an ongoing basis to address the public health and safety concerns in the Kensington neighborhood as they arise,” his spokesperson told Fox News.

“We encourage residents and businesses to call 311 or use the online submission form to report public health and safety concerns and the presence of encampments,” they added.

But according to Oh, Kenney hasn’t done nearly enough to tackle this problem — such as, you know, shutting down the drug market altogether through strenuous law enforcement.

“We will record them. We will videotape them,” Oh said, referencing the drone idea. “Then, we will go up, and we will let them know first this is a new day. You’re not going to do this anymore.”

“After that, we will begin to enforce the law. Every criminal law, every public safety law, every quality-of-life law will be enforced, and I will have the police officers to do it,” he added.

Kensington Philadelphia, On a Friday morning Driving around! #crime #drugs pic.twitter.com/bszztMesrg

— Jordan bumgarner (@Jordanbum89) August 17, 2023

Oh has his fair share of leftist critics who say this approach could backfire by leading to more overdose deaths.

“Addicts’ drug tolerance would decrease during incarceration, leaving them more susceptible to accidentally ingesting too much upon release, Stanford addiction researcher Keith Humphreys [said],” according to Fox News.

But Oh isn’t too partial to this criticism.

“The most important thing is to communicate to them [the addicts and criminals] that these things will not be tolerated. No more open-air drug dealing. No more public injection of heroin or other drugs,” he said.

“No more public nodding off and being out of control. No more wandering into the streets. No more living in tents and defecating on people’s property,” he continued.

Local community activist Britt Carpenter, who runs a nonprofit for the homeless, also disagrees with Oh’s aggressive approach, though she too has plenty of criticism for Kenney’s administration.

“The organizations that are out here, the nonprofits, the groups, the harm reduction advocates that are out here doing what we’re doing every day, I think we’re filling a huge void that the city has left. The city is not filling those voids where they should,” she told Fox News.

“We’re making a difference. We’re the ones that are caring and have the empathy, and we’re spreading the awareness,” she continued.

Carpenter added that she has faith neither in Kenney nor the two candidates running to replace him.

“City officials stay as far away from Kensington as possible unless there’s a photo op. The city officials, especially Mayor Kenney, have forgotten that … every life that’s been taken down here through an overdose, whatever has happened, is somebody’s somebody,” she said.

Kensington Ave – Philadelphia’s Skid Row … Warning this could be in Chicago if you let this Mayor and his DSA doper boozer buddies do whatever they want … the more things are messed up the more power and money they get that’s their game don’t forget that … pic.twitter.com/20Rot530hZ

— SubX.News (@SubxNews) August 18, 2023

Oh nevertheless remains confident in his strategy.

“You have to stop the drug addiction. You have to stop the abuse that they go through,” he said.

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Vivek Saxena

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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.

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