Part 9/12:
Downtown Seattle has become a magnet for illicit drug activity. Third Avenue, a major transit and shopping corridor, functions as a hub for drug sales and consumption, with open-air markets for stolen goods and illegal substances. The situation is so dire that city officials proposed building special structures—murals on sidewalks and even dedicated “anti-masturbation buildings”—to deal with the fallout of a permissive attitude toward mental health and addiction crises.