Lurie, SF leaders introduce ordinance to tackle city's fentanyl crisis

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, county supervisors and public safety leaders spoke Wednesday on an ordinance introduced this week to tackle the city's fentanyl crisis.

Supervisors Matt Dorsey, Bilal Mahmood and Danny Sauter were in attendance, along with Chief of Public Safety Paul Yep, Police Chief Bill Scott, Interim Fire Chief Sandra Tong, Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and Emergency Management Director Mary Ellen Carroll. 

On Tuesday, Lurie introduced the Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance to the county board of supervisors, which will allow for more staffing and treatment resources to combat drug use in San Francisco.

"We can no longer treat this fentanyl crisis as a nine-to-five issue. This is a crisis that happens 24 hours a day," Lurie said.

"We have a crisis that needs urgency, that demands urgency, and that's what you're seeing from my administration and everyone behind me," he went on to say.

Lurie said the city's drug crisis is both a law enforcement issue and a behavioral health issue.

The ordinance would allow for hiring and contracting of health and public safety staff in San Francisco, along with additional treatment and shelter capacity, he said.

"It's not just about beds, it's about staffing," Lurie said. 

The ordinance has five cosponsors on the board of supervisors, including Mahmood, who represents district 5, which includes the Tenderloin District.

"I heard during the campaign that what we need to do to solve that crisis is to make sure we have a fully staffed police department, fully funding efforts to coordinate law enforcement and city departments together and ensure more community collaboration," the supervisor said.