For months now, an open-air drug market has operated in a small Downtown West park that sits next to a school and between two significant St. Louis attractions.
One block long by one block wide, the park sits at 13th Street and Pine, between Soldiers Memorial Military Museum and the iconic Central Library, kitty-corner to Confluence Preparatory Academy. (The park’s proper name is anything but clear.) On a recent afternoon, there were obvious signs of drug activity—some people stooped over themselves, others passed out on the sidewalk and the grass.
“There’s no good solution. But that doesn’t mean you can do nothing,” Denis Beganovic, who sat with me on the Soldier Memorial steps across the street. “This isn’t a homeless issue. It’s an addiction issue.”…