SF Weekly does a great job at exposing this!
Black Market Street: Inside a Thriving Open-Air Drug Business
"You need some weed?"
The hustler asks it with a nonchalant air, neither friendly nor imposing. Smooth. Like a pro.
The customer is startled, shoulders stiffening beneath his gray v-neck.
"Huh?"
"You need weed?" he repeats.
The customer, a thin man in his 20s walking down Market Street, stops and looks around. Through his aviators he notices the dozen or so young men in loose jeans and hoodies lingering around the corner of Market and Jones. Some keep to themselves, leaning against the walls of aWestern Union check-cashing joint. Others huddle in groups of two and three beside parked cars.
The hustler, 6-foot-2 and lean with a beanie pulled to his eyebrows, is perched on a chain railing near the intersection.
The customer stutters, searching for an adequate response, before mumbling, "How do you know I'm not a cop?"
"I can just tell."
"How much for an eighth?"
"Thirty for a regular, 50 for a smoker's eighth."
Read the full article here http://www.sfweekly.com/2012-10-24/news/marijuana-drugs-dealing-san-francisco-black-market-mid-market-economy-sfpd-mayor-ed-lee/
