New San Francisco policy ties distribution of safe-use drug supplies to treatment services
New San Francisco policy ties distribution of safe-use drug supplies to treatment services
In San Francisco, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced a big change in drug policy. City-funded programs will no longer be able to distribute safe-use drug supplies unless they are tied to counseling or treatment. But some users and non-profits question whether this will have the right kind of impact.
SAN FRANCISCO - In San Francisco, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced a big change in drug policy. City-funded programs will no longer be able to distribute safe-use drug supplies unless they are tied to counseling or treatment. But some users and non-profits question whether this will have the right kind of impact.
New mayor, new policy
What we know:
The old policy was intended to help drug users do it safely. But the mayor says it's simply not working. And so he's being proactive in the hopes of saving more lives.
In the Tenderloin, officials say two people a day die from drug overdoses. Still, users say they're not afraid of the power of fentanyl.
"It's literally what we look for or what I look for. Not to overdose, but the strongest stuff you can get. That's where we're at. That's what everyone wants to get," says one person with substance use disorder named Colin.
But times are changing. And so is San Francisco's policy when it comes to drug use. Gone are the days when city-sanctioned billboards recommended "Do it with friends."
The power of fentanyl
"I think what changed is fentanyl. Fentanyl is so incredibly deadly in such small quantities that we have to change course and that's what we're doing here today," says Mayor Lurie.
Lurie says from now on, non-profits handing out safe-use supplies like syringes, pipes or straws will have to do it indoors and will have to pair that with offers of counseling and treatment.
Handing out supplies, lack of services
"The days of handing out supplies without any connection to treatment or to case management, those days are over," he says.
But non-profits like the San Francisco AIDS Foundation are concerned that barriers to safe supplies could drive users to unsafe ones. Plus, they say, treatment beds are hard to come by.
"When it comes to treatment options, we just don't have enough and people will end up on wait lists, being told come back tomorrow," says Laura Thomas of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.
City officials say they're working on that.
"I think we're going to put our money where our mouth is. We want more resources focused on helping to engage people and help them get plugged into treatment," says Dan Tsai, with the Department of Public Health.
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Skepticism
What they're saying:
On the streets, users are skeptical this policy will work.
"That's not like making a difference whatsoever. Nobody's like I'm going to get help because I can't get my supplies. It's really, I hate to say it, but the focus, I don't even know what that's about," says Brianne of San Francisco.
But they say, in the Tenderloin they are seeing changes for the better: with this new mayoral administration has come more police and more clean-up crews.
"The streets are cleaner. There's less violence and gangs, know what I'm saying," says a man called Rodeo.
City officials say they will be closely monitoring the public health impact of this new policy that goes into effect April 30.
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