A report by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner published this week found that fentanyl was responsible for the overwhelming number of drug overdose fatalities in 2023.Of the 806 accidental overdose deaths, the report found that fentanyl figured in 653 of them. The synthetic opiod – which is at the heart of an epidemic sweeping parts of San Francisco and the nation – is often taken in combination with other drugs.
Often prescribed as a painkiller, incredibly small amounts of fentanyl can be fatal to those who use it.
Of San Francisco’s 2023’s fatalities, methampetamines were found in the bloodstream of about half the 806 victims, while cocaine was discovered in about 370.August was the deadliest month for drug overdose deaths, spiking at 88.Three San Francisco neighborhoods saw the majority of accidental drug overdoses. South of Market had about 20 percent of the death, tied with Polk Street and Russian Hill.
The Tenderloin, where there has been an increased law enforcement effort to reduce drug trafficking – involving the San Francisco Police Department, the National Guard and the California Highway Patrol – was the site for 19 percent of the accidental overdose deaths.According to the Centers for Disease Control, 112,000 people died of fentanyl overdoses last year, up from more than 73,000 deaths in 2022. The CDC says the drug has resulted in more than a quarter-million deaths since 2018.
