The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has established a “drug-free zone” that includes a portion of Eastern Market Metro Plaza Park, effective from Sept. 18 to 22.
The zone encomes the plaza south of Pennsylvania Avenue and further extends as far south as E Street SE between Seventh and Ninth Streets SE, a block on either side of Barracks Row.
Why a drug-free zone, here? Indications for the designation include increased arrests for drugs, reports of dangerous crime or homicides over the previous six months, or “verifiable” information indicating drug sales. MPD reports indicate arrests for public consumption of marijuana in the area.
Barracks Row Main Street (BRMS) Director Brian Ready said that the main street organization was not consulted prior to the establishment of the zone. However, he said BRMS welcomes the effort. “We hope it will help address some of the issues that we’re having in the park to make [it] a more welcoming place for the community.”
Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner David Sobelsohn (6B03) who represents a portion of the area said that neither himself nor, to his knowledge, the wider commission were consulted. “In general, I do the idea of ridding that area of illegal drugs and illegal drug sales. I think that’s a great idea,” he said. “The devil is in the details exactly how they’re going to do it.” Both the ANC Public Safety Committee and its Parks and Recreation Committee could have provided input on the matter, Sobelsohn said.
He said neighbors have expressed concern about drug use, particularly marijuana, on the plaza. “I’ve heard about drug sales in the area as well,” Sobelsohn said, “that there’s open drug market on the Eastern Market Metro Plaza. So if what’s going to happen is that the Drug Mart will be shut down, the illegal Drug Mart on Eastern Market, Metro plaza will be shut down, that’s great.”
But, he said, without details he could not be sure how or if the zone would have the desired effect. “You can’t just wave a magic wand and eliminate all illegal sales of drugs in a particular area,” Sobelsohn said. “You have to actually have some enforcement, and that’s the question I don’t know the answer to.”
What Is A Drug Free Zone
District law provided for the creation of Drug Free Zones in 1996 but was repealed in 2014 (a 1989 version was declared unconstitutional).
The provision under the 2024 Secure DC Act allows Chief of Police Pamela Smith to declare any public area inside a square as big as 1,000 feet per side a drug free zone for up to five days, or 15 days per 30-day period.
Although the legislation as worded is intended to prohibit “a group of 2 or more within the perimeter of a drug free zone established pursuant to section 3 for the purpose of committing an offense under Title IV of the Controlled Substances Act,” it allows offers to determine the purpose of a person’s presence in a zone by, among other considerations, when “such person has no other apparent lawful reason for congregating in the drug free zone.” It is also a violation of the law not to obey an officer’s orders to disperse.
Critics have characterized similar legislation as anti-loitering. Skeptics have argued that the provision makes it easier for police to harass Black and Brown people congregating in public space. For instance, Patrice Sulton of the DC Justice Lab has pointed out that the sale of drugs is already illegal; the new legislation could allow police to stop and search individuals in the area, she told Alex Koma of Washington City Paper in February, a practice that the ACLU has said disproporationately affects Black people.
Both the Eastern Market Metro Station and multiple Metro Bus stops are within the perimeter of this drug-free zone.
The notice is for the maximum span of consecutive days (120 hours) permitted by DC Code under a declaration. Each declaration requires 24-hour notice to a maximum of 360 hours per 30 day span, or 15 days.
There have been regular rounds of Drug-Free Zones since the Secure DC bill was ed by Council March 5.
The EMMP zone is in effect until 7:59 a.m. Sept. 23, 2024.
