Last year, 811 San Francisco residents died from accidental overdoses. More than half of those deaths were linked to fentanyl, a potent, synthetic opiod normally prescribed as a painkiller. The surge in fentanyl use has prompted an increasing law enforcement crackdown in the city's Tenderloin. So far, this year, the monthly death toll from fentanyl has decreased, but the city remains a poster child of the nation's failure to come to grips with the opiod epidemic.
Today, we look behind the numbers with Sylvie Sturm, the reporter at the San Francisco Public Press, who recently wrote a series on the city's fight against fentanyl.
This interview aired in the March 18, 2024 episode of Crosscurrents.
