According to a report Monday in The Seattle Times, the smoking of hard drugs on Seattle's public transit is so frequent that the noxious fumes are getting to transit workers and discouraging ridership. Would you stop riding public transportation if you witnessed people smoking heavy drugs - or were being overcome by the fumes?

And, perhaps no surprise, the local transit workers union says violence has increased dramatically because of the drug use. Have you ever witnessed a violent encounter that was likely due to drugs?

Unsurprisingly, Seattle is one of the cities where the "defund the police" movement took hold during the summer of 2020. In fact, the attitude of law enforcement there was so hands-off the city allowed demonstrators to establish an anarchic six-block occupied zone known as CHAZ or CHOP, depending upon when you were there. Do you remember hearing about CHAZ or CHOP that was allowed to be established during the nationwide BLM riots?

According to the Times, King County Metro Transit workers filed 398 security incident reports involving drug use in 2021. This is a massive increase from 44 in 2019 and 73 in 2020. Does it surprise you that there has been such an increase in crime in the last couple of years in Seattle, since the Democrat mayor decided to start defunding the police? Admin note for context: Teresa Mosqueda, Seattle City Council member and budget committee chair, released the city's revised budget proposal Tuesday, which saw about $10 million in cuts to the Seattle Police Department (SPD).

"Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587, representing 4,305 active members, says stronger enforcement is needed, including more police and security guards, with greater authority to remove people," the Times' Mike Lindblom wrote. "Besides toxic smoke, union officials said crews who maintain transit stops have been punched, spat upon and threatened. Many incidents don't show up in official reports, union leaders say." Less than 2 years after the Democrat mayor started efforts to defund the police, he started requesting assistance from law enforcement to curb the drastic increase in crime that started plaguing the entire city, not just the transit locales. Does it make sense that crime would increase in a city where anti-police movements are so prevalent?

Before COVID-19, Seattle saw a dramatic rise in public transit ridership. It jumped 50 percent during the 2010s to 750,000 passengers a day — the biggest increase in the United States. However, ridership then fell by over half during the pandemic, and it hasn't entirely rebounded. During the summer of 2021, the Times reported, narcotics smoking began to become a major issue onboard buses and trains.The complaints don't involve marijuana, either. Instead, fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine — or some mixture thereof — are usually placed on a piece of aluminum foil that is heated from underneath by a lighter. The smoke is then sucked up by the user via a straw. Unfortunately, that smoke doesn't stay where it is. Since air circulation systems on buses and trains carry the air forward, riders and drivers get the brunt of the fumes. Since the epidemic of drug use on public transit began last summer, six drivers have asked to stop operating their vehicles during their shift. Another 14 said they experienced symptoms such as dizziness, headaches or problems breathing from narcotics smoke. Do you see such heavy illegal drug use on public transportation a major problem that Seattle should take a more active role in correcting?