At MacArthur Park, mom and pop shops suffer from a shoplifting spike. Residents feel unsafe. People overdose and die.
It’s 8 a.m. in MacArthur Park.
“The worst thing about MacArthur Park is the fentanyl epidemic,” said Rafael, a street vendor who sells kitchenware and did not want his last name to be shared for fear of retribution from dealers. “I’ve seen people die in the park. I’ve seen people sacrifice everything for a little euphoria.” Her family has run a vitamin and medicine stand inside a swap meet on Alvarado Street for more than 25 years. “Even the common people, Latinos that live in this area, are scared because they have been hurt. There are a lot of crazy people out here,” Sylvia said.
Fentanyl is a highly addictive, synthetic opioid about 50 times as potent as heroin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its “high” is shorter than other opioids and people who use it frequently can feel withdrawal symptoms within two to three hours of smoking it, said Ricky Bluthenthal, professor of public health sciences at USC. As a result, many people who use it are in constant pursuit of the substance.
Street vending has also grown exponentially in the area since 2019, when a state law decriminalizing the practice was enacted, said LAPD Detective Stephen Beerer. People often make money to buy the drug by shoplifting goods and selling them to street vendors, said Beerer. Many vendors then resell the stolen products to try to make a living, he added. Not all vendors are part of this trade, and some sell homemade food or wholesale goods.
“People don’t come inside the swap meet that often, and I think it’s because there are too many people outside selling products on the street,” said Sylvia in Spanish. “I know that they sell similar products for cheaper outside.”
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