Labeled "San Francisco Recovers," the resolution plans to use some of the $100 million the city earned in opioid litigation settlementsover the past few years. They propose a three-pronged approach -- incentivizing and supporting those with substance-use disorders to seek recovery, ending street-level using and dealing and calling on 21 city departments to analyze their resources and obstacles to progress.
Nearly 17-hundred San Franciscans have lost their lives to drug overdoses since January 2020 -- nearly double the amount of COVID-19 fatalities seen in the same time frame, according to city data.
Supervisor Matt Dorsey, joined by Supervisors Rafael Mandelman and Catherine Stefani, introduced this resolution, saying that this is the type of strategy that San Franciscans are expecting in order to make a lasting change.
Dorsey said San Francisco Recovers is largely inspired by methods employed by major cities across the U.S. and Europe that have successfully combated drug crises of their own.
If the resolution is approved, city departments have 90 days to report back on their findings, and the board will discuss "evidence-based" solutions.
Last month, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would legalize a safe consumption pilot program in San Francisco, Oakland and the City of Los Angeles.
