The new linkage center, aimed at connecting homeless addicts with rehab facilities, opened on January 18

The center is located at 1172 Market Street at the United Nations Plaza in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco and is equipped to serve up to 100 people at a time 

Photos taken by DailyMail.com show an illicit drug consumption site that is now littered with needles and crowded with addicts shooting up in broad daylight 

San Francisco never approved the creation of a supervised consumption site at the linkage center and the site is in violation of state and federal laws

The open air drug market was first reported on by journalist Michael Shellenberger, who said in his Substack blog that he'd witnessed a drug deal and blatant drug use at the site 

The center is part of Mayor London Breed's Tenderloin Emergency Intervention plan to address public drug use and overdose deaths in the neighborhood   

Breed generated national news media coverage last December when she announced the crackdown on open air drug use in the downtown Tenderloin neighborhood

In addition to helping connect people with service, the center will also help people living on the streets get access to basic things like food, water, bathrooms, showers and laundry  

The center operates seven seven days a week between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., with limited staff due to the impact of COVID-19. However, the center will expand to operate 24 hours a day and 7 days a week