Michael Drugstore chains like Walgreens or CVS have recently been complaining about skyrocketing losses due to shoplifting. The thieves know the law is on their side. Even store-employed security personnel are legally not allowed to stop them if thieves are caught. This has led to situations where vagrants or disheveled schoolchildren maraud through the stores with huge garbage bags, stuffing everything within reach into them and walking out unchallenged. Recently, we were at the Safeway supermarket on a Sunday afternoon and witnessed firsthand how some teenagers stuffed goods into their backpacks and made a run for it. This has become the norm. The goods are then hawked on street corners, like at the Mission/24th subway station in broad daylight. It's obvious that the items come from the nearest drugstore. And reportedly, even Amazon now has stolen goods up for sale!

Although stores are allowed to check customers' bags and request a receipt at the exit, customers are not legally required to comply. If a thief walks out with obviously stolen goods, store personnel are not allowed to stop them. Now you might be wondering why mega-supermarkets like Costco check receipts at the exit and no customer objects to it. This is simply because Costco is a membership-based supermarket where every customer pays an annual fee. If a customer refuses the check at the exit, the supermarket uses cameras to identify who it was and revokes their membership. This way, Costco stays legally on the safe side.

For the past few months, there has been police officers from the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) stationed in front of practically every Walgreens. They are authorized to stop and arrest lawbreakers. However, in the long run, this becomes costly, and many fear that this will eventually lead to further closures of these branches. Recently, the CVS chain announced that by January 2022, they will close six of their branches in San Francisco. This, in turn, affects the elderly and poor people who have difficulty traveling to the branches in the suburbs to fill their prescriptions or meet their drugstore needs. And so the cycle continues: If we don't prevent poor souls from looting the drugstores, we deprive even poorer souls of access to the necessary infrastructure -- something to keep in mind for the next election.

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• More topics you might be interested in:

  	Corona Winter
  	Doctor's notes now viewable
  	First Defund, then Refund the Police
  	School Board Recall
  	Komoot, the hiking and cycling app
  	Top Product: Pizza Steel