A recent report by The Guardian newspaper on April 28 revealed that San Francisco, California has seen a 41% increase in drug-related deaths in the first quarter of 2023. This rise equates to one person dying of an accidental overdose every 10 hours. This spike in deaths comes as the US is facing a fentanyl crisis, with many deaths reported due to this particular drug overdose.
In the last three months, 200 people have died in the city due to drug overdoses, compared to 142 in the same period last year, according to data from the city’s medical examiner cited in the report. The city’s overdose fatalities were at an all-time high between December and January, with 82 people losing their lives, and fentanyl was detected in most of the deaths.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, and it is highly addictive, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People living on the streets have been among the hardest hit by this surge in deaths, with the number of unhoused individuals dying of overdoses between January and March doubling compared to the same period the previous year.
The report also found that a third of the total number of overdose victims were Black, who only represent 5% of the city’s population.
The spike in deaths occurred shortly after the city’s government shut down a key outreach center where unhoused individuals could take drugs under supervision and instead increased policing in San Francisco’s drug-plagued Tenderloin district.
The Tenderloin Center provided daytime shelter for the unhoused, along with housing referrals, food, addiction treatment, and health services. The center also reversed 330 opiate overdoses in 11 months using Narcan, a life-saving medication used to treat opioid overdoses, according to the report.
The center, which served over 400 people daily, was shut down by San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who was disappointed by the low number of visitors at the center who ultimately accepted help to get off drugs. She also sought millions to increase police overtime with a priority on arresting drug dealers.
However, this move has led to the isolation of drug users, who are more at risk of overdose deaths, according to Gary McCoy of HealthRIGHT 360, a nonprofit that ran the drug overdose prevention portion of the Tenderloin Center. McCoy explained that when people do not have a safe place to go and use drugs in public places, they tend to rush and use more substances, which increases the risk of overdose.
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