San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced yesterday (Wednesday) he is modifying the city's policy of handing out clean drug use supplies in an effort to combat the fentanyl crisis.
As part of a harm reduction strategy, the city has contracts with nonprofits that provide clean supplies used to smoke and inject drugs. Groups that receive city funding to distribute safe supplies for drug use will be mandated to pair treatment referrals and connections to addiction care with handing out supplies.
The shift is a part of Lurie's executive directive called "Breaking the Cycle" to tackle the city's fentanyl epidemic. It calls for more coordinated services, better measurement of outcomes, and accountability for government.
The idea is to get more people off the street and connected to services and keep public spaces clean and safe, while better managing taxpayer resources.
The new policy will go into effect April 30. In the meantime, the San Francisco Department of Public Health will be working with its partner nonprofits to ensure a smooth transition and ensure compliance with the changes.
