San Francisco strikes towards opening a protected drug use web site
For years, San Francisco’s quest to have a safe drug use website has been more talk than action.
Officials like Mayor London Breed reiterated their support for these sites – where people can use drugs under the supervision of health professionals who can reverse overdoses – but have been cautious about moving forward without the approval of the state and federal governments.
Now that is starting to change. Following a board vote in October calling on Breed to use their emergency powers to open a safe consumption point, The City is quickly acquiring a building in the Tenderloin that could house the site. Officials are also working out the legal and logistical details of the operation.
The two safe toons in New York City that opened in November – which have not yet been closed by federal officials – have put pressure on the federal government to clarify their legality. And a bill by State Senator Scott Wiener could pave the way for California to legalize safe consumption locations by early 2023.
Still, many challenges remain in getting one or more of these sites up and running in San Francisco, where 545 people died of overdoses between January and October.
On Wednesday, the board’s budget and finance committee unanimously voted to purchase 822 Geary St. and adjacent property that could house a secure consumption point. The matter will be submitted to the full committee for approval on Tuesday, where it is expected to be passed.
The way from there is less clear.
The authority responsible for opening a safe consumption point is the Department of Public Health (DPH). In a statement, a department spokesperson wrote that The City “remains in the exploratory phase of opening a safe toast”. The department is “considering” using the room at 822 Geary both as a safe place to consume and as a crisis diversion unit that would provide 15 behavioral medicine beds. The $ 6.3 million purchase price for the site would come from Prop. C, the city’s 2020 homeless service tax.
DPH plans to host community meetings and provide other opportunities for the public to get involved in its plans for 822 Geary, which so far have largely taken place behind closed doors. While city officials had previously targeted an opening date as early as next spring, DPH employees reported at the budget and finance committee meeting on Wednesday that the facility could open by September.
At the same time, city attorney David Chiu has begun reaching out to federal and state officials regarding a safe consumption point in San Francisco and is advising the mayor on how to proceed, according to spokeswoman Jen Kwart.
It could be clear soon, with a letter from the Department of Justice expected by Jan 5th on a case of a safe consumption point in Philadelphia. Also in January, Wiener plans to reintroduce SB 57 into the state legislature, a bill from last year that would legalize safe consumption locations in major California cities, his office confirmed. If passed, the bill – the latest in a long line of attempts to legalize safe consumption locations at the state level – would not come into force until January 2023.
The location of the planned location in San Francisco and the related communication from The City have already triggered criticism.
Randy Shaw, executive director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic and an occasional employee of Examiner, supports safe consumer locations but is opposed to the Geary location. Glide Memorial Church or another existing needle swap closer to the heart of the tenderloin would make more sense, he said. Shaw also said the location is linked to the tenderloin’s history as a “containment zone” for drug use.
“This idea that the Tenderloin is the place because that’s where the drug dealers are – I mean, The City put the drug dealers in there,” Shaw said.
But for harm reduction advocates, the Geary site is just a first step. “For this program to be successful, there must be more than one location,” said Gary McCoy, policy director at HealthRIGHT 360, who previously went on hunger strike to campaign for The City to open a safe place of consumption. . “One location would not have the capacity needed to be successful and actually save the lives we need to save.”
Data from the chief medical officer’s office shows the tenderloin is a good place to start. The data shows that 21% of drug overdose deaths in The City in 2021 occurred there – more than any other neighborhood – with a further 17% in adjacent Nob Hill, near the planned location at 822 Geary.
While San Francisco is proceeding cautiously, outgoing New York Mayor Bill de Blasio offers another blueprint: to dare the federal government to shut down safe consumption points in that city in a year the US recorded 100,000 overdose deaths. De Blasio “didn’t care about NIMBYism because this is an emergency,” said McCoy. “I don’t think anyone wanted to be first, but I hope New York City motivates everyone else who wanted to.”
bschneider@sfexaminer.com
