Fentanyl traded for candy at new market

Drew Ersland, who is homeless and addicted to drugs, sold candy to other users between the rangers’ sweeps.

“I got candy. Zoom zooms. Wam wams,” he told a passerby, using prison slang to describe his supply of Reese’s cupcakes, Mike and Ike, and Sour Patch Kids. “You ain’t never seen Reese’s cupcakes before.”

Jefferson Square is one of the latest spots for the ever-moving drug market. Ramped-up enforcement since spring 2023 has gradually pushed illicit activity from the Tenderloin, Civic Center, and Sixth Street toward the Mission and other neighborhoods. Locals say a night market has been growing in the park over the past few months.