San Francisco, California, is in the midst of a drug overdose epidemic that killed more residents last year than the coronavirus and is on pace to be even worse in 2021.
More than 700 San Franciscans died from drug overdoses last year, compared to 300 deaths as a result of coronavirus infections, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday.
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Additionally, 252 accidental overdose deaths have occurred in the city from January to April, which puts San Francisco on track to have even more overdose deaths this year than last year. Last year, which was a record-setting year for drug overdoses, 181 people died from drug overdoses through April.
Chief medical examiner data shows that overdose fatalities in San Francisco started skyrocketing in 2019, which is the same time that large amounts of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, were unleashed on the streets.
“We anticipated mortality to go up because that is exactly what’s happened everywhere that fentanyl has settled into,” Dr. Phillip Coffin, director of substance abuse research for the Department of Public Health, said about the rapid increase.
Coffin added that there is no quick solution to the problem and that “fentanyl is here for good.”
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“A big part of it is to bring the intervention to the places where the people are, as opposed to forcing people to go to where the interventions are,” he said, explaining that more people can be treated for their addiction that way.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported last year that the city was also facing a mass exodus of residents due to a variety of factors, including coronavirus lockdowns, homelessness, drug overdoses, and high taxes.
