{"id":1985692,"date":"2023-07-29T09:45:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-29T13:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-the-opioid-epidemic-devastated-san-francisco-and-contributed-to-a-potential-economic-freefall\/"},"modified":"2023-07-29T09:48:22","modified_gmt":"2023-07-29T13:48:22","slug":"how-the-opioid-epidemic-devastated-san-francisco-and-contributed-to-a-potential-economic-freefall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-the-opioid-epidemic-devastated-san-francisco-and-contributed-to-a-potential-economic-freefall\/","title":{"rendered":"The opioid crisis wrecked San Francisco, leading to a possible economic collapse."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-the-opioid-epidemic-devastated-san-francisco-and-contributed-to-a-potential-economic-freefall%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1985692&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>San Francisco&#8217;s Opioid\u200c Crisis: A Growing \u200bThreat to the City<\/h2>\n<p>San \u200bFrancisco has \u2063experienced a\u200b troubling surge \u200din drug use and addiction in recent years, wreaking havoc \u2062on the city&#8217;s economy and causing significant damage to businesses, \u2062the housing market, and public safety.<\/p>\n<p>With overdose deaths in San Francisco reaching alarming levels this year, the city is on track to record the highest number of accidental overdose \u2062deaths in its history.<\/p>\n<h3>Deadliest Year Yet<\/h3>\n<p>Despite \u200da 32% \u200bdecrease in fatalities in June compared to May, data from the Medical Examiner&#8217;s Office suggests that 2023 will be the deadliest year yet. From January to June, over 400 people have\u200d died from accidental overdoses, marking a 40% increase compared\u2063 to the same period last year.<\/p>\n<p>The primary driver of this epidemic is the \u2064synthetic\u200c opioid fentanyl, which is \u200cbeing seized at unprecedented levels \u200din the city&#8217;s open-air drug\u2063 markets. The San \u2062Francisco Police Department has confiscated enough fentanyl to result in 30 million\u2063 lethal \u2064doses \u2063during the first \u2063two quarters of 2023.\u2064 The Tenderloin \u2063Police Station, located in\u200b an area \u2062plagued by drug use \u200dand dealing, reported the\u200b seizure of nearly 70 kilos of fentanyl.<\/p>\n<p>San Francisco&#8217;s Struggle \u200cto Contain \u200dthe Crisis<\/p>\n<p>San Francisco&#8217;s leaders have long grappled with the opioid crisis, with the lack of comprehensive\u2064 treatment options being \u200da major obstacle. While \u2064the city has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alisal-fire-in-calif-prompts-new-evacuations-air-quality-advisory\/\" title=\"Alisal Fire in Calif. prompts new evacuations, air quality advisory\">received federal assistance<\/a> and utilized state \u200bresources to combat the epidemic, negative \u200cimpacts on San Francisco&#8217;s operations persist.<\/p>\n<h2>The Devastating Economic Impact<\/h2>\n<p>The \u200copioid epidemic \u2063extends beyond San Francisco, affecting\u2064 the entire\u2062 United States through workforce shortages and reduced employment productivity.<\/p>\n<p>Research from the \u2064American \u2063Action Forum reveals that opioids were responsible for \u200dapproximately\u200d 20% of the 6.3 million workers absent from the \u2062US labor force in late 2022.<\/p>\n<p>A \u200dstudy analyzing\u200c data before and\u200d after the \u2062COVID-19 \u200cshelter-in-place order in\u2064 March 2020 found a 50% increase in weekly median overdose deaths in San Francisco.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to layoffs in the tech \u200dindustry, \u200bwhich is \u2064a major \u2064sector in \u200bthe Bay Area, there has been a significant exodus of\u200c employees \u200bfrom \u2063downtown \u200dSan Francisco \u2064since \u200c2020. Data from the Budget and\u200d Legislative Analyst indicates that there are nearly \u200d150,000 fewer office workers in \u200bthe city compared to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/south-dakota-lowers-unemployment-to-pre-pandemic-levels-after-state-rejected-lockdowns\/\" title=\"South Dakota Lowers Unemployment to Pre-Pandemic Levels After State Rejected Lockdowns\">pre-pandemic levels<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>The Declining Housing Market<\/h2>\n<p>The combination of remote work, rising homelessness, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nfl-network-pulls-michael-irvin-from-super-bowl-coverage-after-complaint-from-woman\/\" title=\"NFL Network Pulls Michael Irvin From Super Bowl Coverage After Complaint From Woman\">drug-related issues<\/a> has contributed to the decline of San Francisco&#8217;s housing market.<\/p>\n<p>According to S&#038;P Dow \u2062Jones, the\u200d sale prices of existing \u200dhomes in the city have dropped \u200dby approximately 11% since May\u2063 2018. \u2062San Francisco \u2062is experiencing a faster \u200cdecline\u200b in home prices compared to any \u2063other city in \u2064the\u2063 nation.<\/p>\n<p>Zillow data reveals that San Francisco home prices increased \u200bfrom \u200daround\u2063 $900,000 in January 2020\u200c to $1.2 million\u2063 in May 2022.<\/p>\n<h2>Efforts by Lawmakers<\/h2>\n<p>Earlier this year, Governor\u2064 Gavin Newsom deployed the National Guard to San Francisco to disrupt fentanyl\u200c trafficking,\u200c receiving\u200b support from\u2064 Mayor London Breed.<\/p>\n<p>Mayor Breed has launched a multi-agency operation targeting drugs \u200cin the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods. She has also pledged \u200cto <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fundamental-lack-of-strategy-gop-sens-blunt-burr-demand-answers-from-biden-administration-on-covid-test-shortage\/\" title=\"\u2018Fundamental Lack Of Strategy\u2019: GOP Sens. Blunt, Burr Demand Answers From Biden Administration On COVID Test Shortage\">allocate additional funds<\/a> in the city&#8217;s budget \u2064for \u2062Fiscal Years \u20632023-2024 and 2024-2025 to address\u2063 the crisis.<\/p>\n<p>A resolution\u200c led by Mayor Breed and a coalition of bipartisan mayors urged the Biden administration to classify all illicitly created fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs, indicating their high potential for abuse and \u2062lack of FDA-approved medical use.<\/p>\n<p>Former House\u200d Speaker Nancy Pelosi\u2063 announced the \u2062approval of Operation Overdrive for San \u200dFrancisco, \u2062an initiative that aims to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-the-opioid-epidemic-devastated-san-francisco-and-contributed-to-a-potential-economic-freefall\/\" title=\"The opioid crisis wrecked San Francisco, leading to a possible economic collapse.\">dismantle criminal drug networks operating<\/a> in areas with high rates\u2064 of violence and drug\u200b poisoning deaths.<\/p>\n<h2>Treatment and Rehabilitation Services<\/h2>\n<p>Despite spending millions of dollars to combat the drug crisis,\u2063 San Francisco has long \u200dfaced a severe shortage of treatment beds. To address this, leaders have proposed \u200ca controversial tactic of requiring individuals arrested for drug use or possession to attend a specialized \u200bcourt offering treatment services.<\/p>\n<p>Under this new\u2063 approach, those facing a second\u200c drug use or possession arrest will be \u2063sent to &#8216;drug court,&#8217; \u2063where they can access\u2063 job training programs, mental health resources, and rehabilitation options.<\/p>\n<p>Law enforcement \u200dofficers have been deployed to drug-fueled areas to make more arrests and provide\u200b treatment services. San Francisco&#8217;s District Attorney \u200bBrooke \u2063Jenkins oversees this program, which began enforcement in July.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Enforcement \u2062as a mechanism to get people \u200cinto treatment is new for \u2062us and will take time to catch on, but we are committed to doing our part to help address the crisis we are seeing\u200c on our streets,&#8221; \u2062said District Attorney Jenkins.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">Click \u2063here<\/a> to read more \u200dfrom The Washington Examiner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>San Francisco&#8217;s drug use and addiction rates have surged, causing detrimental effects on the economy, businesses, housing market, and public safety. The city is witnessing a concerning rise in overdose deaths, potentially leading to the highest accidental overdose death toll this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1985693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1985692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1985692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1985692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1985692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1985693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1985692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1985692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1985692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}