Susan Lefever, wearing a black jacket and crossbody purse, stands in front of the glass windows of a storefront. There are flyers posted on the glass behind her.

San Francisco’s Fatal Overdose Crisis Was Decades in the Making

As San Francisco continues to search for solutions, our team at “Civic” is exploring the origins of the city’s opioid overdose crisis, what has been done to help and what might be making things worse. After six months of research involving hundreds of studies, reports and archival news clippings, and three dozen interviews with people with lived experience and professional expertise in homelessness, addiction, medicine, criminal justice, housing, social work, street outreach, business, education, harm reduction, policymaking and advocacy, we’re launching the series, “San Francisco and the Overdose Crisis.”

Over six episodes, the series will explore what influenced rampant opioid addiction and its connection to homelessness, the 150-year history of policing and prosecuting drugs in San Francisco, the long battle to open a safe consumption site in the city, and grassroots efforts to stem the tide of drug-related fatalities. 

Closeup photo of Supervisor Matt Dorsey smiling at the camera. The background shows city buildings and part of the Bay Bridge.

Supervisor Defends Dropping Support for Addiction-Treatment Centers

Supervisor Matt Dorsey received backlash this month for asking the mayor to redirect the entire $18.9 million in city funding budgeted for a new drop-in addiction treatment center toward jails instead.

Dorsey told the San Francisco Public Press that he reversed his previous support for the centers — called wellness hubs — once the city’s plans narrowed to one site from six, and removed safe consumption sites, which would have allowed people to consume drugs under supervision so they could receive immediate help in case of overdose.

Dorsey said he now wants the funds to go toward jail health services, including forcing treatment for people in jail who are struggling with substance abuse disorder.

A graphic from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s preliminary accidental drug overdose data report indicates the types of substances causing accidental fatal overdoses and number of deaths in San Francisco this year by day of death from Jan. 1 to July 31.

City Leaders at Odds as Overdose Deaths Trending Toward Record High

Accidental drug overdose deaths continue to torment San Francisco, according to data released Tuesday by the city medical examiner’s office.

While June saw the lowest monthly number of overdose deaths this year, 54, in July it climbed back up to 71. With 473 overdose deaths this year, San Francisco is on track to surpass its highest recorded number of overdose deaths in a calendar year — 725 in 2020.

A man in fatigues speaks into a microphone at a news conference. He is surrounded by other people in police and law enforcement uniforms. They stand in front of flags and a burgundy curtain.

Military-Style Drug War in Tenderloin Sparks Fears That More Drug Users Could Overdose

Last week’s deployment of the National Guard and California Highway Patrol onto San Francisco’s streets to crack down on drugs comes amid intense public pressure to address open air drug use and sales.

But the emphasis on law enforcement for addressing the city’s drug crisis has distressed public defense attorneys and harm reduction advocates who fear the move may worsen the rate of fatal overdoses.

A fence enclosing the Tenderloin Linkage Center at United Nations Plaza in San Francisco is covered in black tarp and signs promoting the center and its services. Pedestrians walk along a red brick-paved sidewalk outside of the enclosed area.

With Overdose Deaths Surging, Critics Chide City, State for Curbing Safe Consumption Centers

San Francisco’s chief medical examiner delivered grim statistics last week about a recent increase in deaths related to drug use. In the first three months of the year, 200 people died of accidental overdose. That’s up significantly from the first quarter last year, with 142 deaths.

These tragedies were disproportionately suffered by marginalized groups. The biggest increase in deaths occurred among those who lacked housing. People listed as having “no fixed address” accounted for 61 overdose deaths in the first quarter, up from 26 during the same period in 2022. Black residents accounted for 33% of fatal overdoses in the first quarter this year, despite representing only 5% of the city’s population.

Addiction experts say the recent increase in overdose deaths could be linked to the closure of the Tenderloin Linkage Center, a temporary facility that operated in United Nations Plaza from January to December 2022 to help drug users and people without housing access supportive services.

A young woman with shoulder-length brown hair and wearing a pale blue sweater faces forward and appears to be speaking in a screen-grab image from a TikTok video.

Family Courts Rely on Dubious Theory to Dismiss Child Abuse Claims

Disbelieving a child’s allegation of abuse based on the notion that the other parent brainwashed them into lying is a hotly debated legal tactic called parental alienation.

A growing chorus of international media coverage, medical groups and judicial bodies are expressing doubts over the validity of this legal defense tactic and of its practitioners.

State Sen. Susan Rubio, who introduced a senate bill to expand the California Family Code to include coercive control in family court hearings and criminal trials, speaks about the need to keep children of domestic violence survivors safe in front of Los Angeles City Hall on June 27, 2022.

Coercive Control Victims Face Skeptical Judges, Court Transcripts Show

On average in the U.S., more than 1 in 3 women, and 1 in 4 men, will experience physical violence, rape or stalking by an intimate partner, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Nevertheless, when victims turn to family court for protection from their abusers, they often face skeptical judges. And that’s especially true when the abuse doesn’t leave a mark.