San Francisco Drug Overdoses Far Exceed Covid 19

A person living in San Francisco is almost three times more likely to die from a drug overdose than from Covid 19, according to this story by Heather Knight from The San Francisco Chronicle.  The city medical examiner handles roughly 2 drug overdose deaths per day, and the 468 who had died so far this year already exceeds the 441 deaths for all of 2019.  The city’s Covid 19 deaths currently total 123.   As the reporter notes, “We’re a city that freaks out about a jogger running past without a mask, but doesn’t blink at someone injecting themselves in the neck on a Tenderloin sidewalk.”  Over 2/3 of the overdoses have been from Fentanyl.

The most progressive city in the nation’s most progressive state, does not punish drug dealing or most theft and property crimes and does not discourage drug use, which is only a misdemeanor in California anyway.   Mayor London Breed and District Attorney Chesa Boudin are the primary drivers of drug enforcement policy in the city by the bay.

1 Response

  1. Douglas Berman says:

    Do you support criminally prosecuting people who do not wear masks during the pandemic? Honest question based in my eagerness to know what kinds of public health risks you think should be subject to criminal enforcement and punishment.