{"id":37800,"date":"2024-11-23T11:48:11","date_gmt":"2024-11-23T19:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=37800"},"modified":"2024-11-23T11:48:12","modified_gmt":"2024-11-23T19:48:12","slug":"breeds-opioid-strategy-has-failed-but-theres-a-much-better-option-a-new-report-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/11\/23\/breeds-opioid-strategy-has-failed-but-theres-a-much-better-option-a-new-report-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Breed\u2019s opioid strategy has failed. But there\u2019s a much better option, a new report says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Study shows arrests aren’t helping\u2014a model from Zurich offers a clear and effective alternative.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By TIM REDMOND<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOVEMBER 21, 2024 (48hills.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco police are arresting almost as many people for simple drug use as for drug dealing, and those arrests are up by a 600 percent over the past year\u2014but the approach is not getting people into treatment, a new Board of Supervisors study shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study, but the Budget and Legislative Analyst\u2019s Office, compares this city\u2019s opioid policies with those of Zurich, Switzerland, and suggests that a more cohesive program, including safe-use sites and less reliance on arrests, would be far more productive than the current approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sup Dean Preston says the new report offers a blueprint for San Francisco. Photo by Andrew Brobst<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sup. Dean Preston, who asked for the study, has proposed that the next administration use the report and its recommendations as a basis for an overhaul of opioid addiction programs in San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe report does a really good job of laying this out,\u201d he told me. \u201cEven if we don\u2019t all agree, we should be able to get all the stakeholders on the same page.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the report\u2019s dramatic findings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Since Mayor London Breed has pushed for a more law-enforcement-centered approach to substance use,<\/strong> police have arrested 400 people so far this year on charges of drug use\u2014and 585 people on charges of dealing. That means 40 percent of the arrests were for use, not dealing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, just 7 percent of the narcotics arrests were for use, and over the past five years, that number has been as low as 1 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The arrest-first policy has not lead to an increase in people seeking or getting treatment. From the report:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

55 percent of the drug use cases charged in 2024 resulted in a bench warrant because the individual did not appear in court, according to the District Attorney\u2019s Office. This translates into 220 drug use cases charged by the DA out of 400 total in which the defendants are not on a pathway to treatment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are just going to wind up back in jail,\u201d Preston told me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So that\u2019s not working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Zurich, on the other hand, has almost entirely eliminated public drug use and open-air dealing<\/strong>. When police encounter drug users in public spaces, they refer them to the three safe-consumption sites the city runs, where there have been zero fatal overdoses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The city of Zurich operates three safe consumption sites, where individuals can inject, smoke or inhale drugs under the supervision of staff trained in safe consumption techniques, including reversing overdoses. A clean environment and supplies are provided along with areas for socializing and amenities such as snacks and resting areas. Staff will provide information and referrals to visitors about substance use disorder treatment and services such as housing, but enrolling in treatment or use of other services is not a requirement of using the safe consumption sites. The philosophy of the sites\u2019 personnel and Zurich\u2019s approach is acceptance of and support for individuals with substance use disorder, much like treatment of individuals with any disease. They believe that individuals with substance use disorder deserve dignity and the best possible health regardless of whatever stage they are at in their addiction. There have been no fatal overdoses at Zurich\u2019s safe consumption sites.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u2014The \u201cfour pillars\u201d of Zurich\u2019s strategy include prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and law enforcement<\/strong>\u2014and officials involved in all four meet regularly. In Zurich, 75 percent of opioid addicts are in some sort of treatment; in San Francisco, that number is 25 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Some 40 percent of the people who overdosed on fentanyl in San Francisco and survived say<\/strong> they didn\u2019t know that drug was in the substances they used. In Zurich, it\u2019s relatively easy to get drugs tested for content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe safe consumption sites are not just a harm reduction strategy in Zurich,\u201d Preston told me. They are part of an integrated system designed to get people off the streets and into treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not a perfect comparison: Zurich, like many European cities, treats housing a public good<\/strong> and a human right, so there are virtually no homeless people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But under the four pillars, all of the city officials and stakeholders are part of the same organized system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In San Francisco, Preston points out, the Department of Public Health is working on harm reduction and treating addiction as a health issue\u2014at the same time the cops are arrested drug users, and the district attorney is treating this as a criminal justice issue. \u201cWith so little coordination, it\u2019s no surprise that people are frustrated,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preston was ousted from office after a withering two-year attack campaign by billionaires, so he won\u2019t be on the board to seek to implement this strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it could be a blueprint for the Lurie Administration\u2014if the new mayor wants to use science and data, instead of political posturing, to address the opiod crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018San Francisco has taken a reactive approach to its drug crisis, launching short-term efforts that have yielded mixed results and have often contradicted each other,\u201d Preston said in a press release. \u201cThere has been no comprehensive approach among the relevant departments and stakeholders that includes both short-term and long-term strategies. Fortunately, San Francisco\u2019s sister city Zurich, Switzerland, has created a blueprint and solved a similar crisis using their \u201cFour Pillars\u201d strategy, which is based on comprehensive strategic planning and coordination among various Zurich departments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the current strategy is failing, perhaps Lurie will consider that it\u2019s worth trying something that works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

48 Hills welcomes comments in the form of letters to the editor, which you can submit here<\/a>. We also invite you to join the conversation on our Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tim Redmond<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tim Redmond has been a political and investigative reporter in San Francisco for more than 30 years. He spent much of that time as executive editor of the Bay Guardian. He is the founder of 48hills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Study shows arrests aren’t helping\u2014a model from Zurich offers a clear and effective alternative. By TIM REDMOND NOVEMBER 21, 2024 (48hills.org) San Francisco police are arresting almost as many people for simple drug use as for drug dealing, and those arrests are up by a 600 percent over the past… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37800"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37800"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37804,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37800\/revisions\/37804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}