San Francisco, which has been moving away from liberal policies over the past several months, inched closer this week to adopting a “recovery first” drug strategy that pushes abstinence and long-term remission. 

The effort has infuriated critics in a city that has pioneered harm reduction. They argue that forcing addicts to stop doing illegal drugs alienates those who are not ready to quit. Supporters say the city has been too lax for too long in its approach to the growing drug epidemic and overdose problem and claim that making drug use safer does little, if anything, to break the cycle of addiction.