One death every ten hours. It's the tragic record of the impact of accidental fentanyl deaths in San Francisco throughout the first quarter of this year, as the overdose crisis continues to wreak ever greater havoc on the West Coast of the United States.
In these first three months of 2023, the Californian city counts 200 deaths due to this circumstance.
This represents an increase of 41% compared to the same period in 2022, when there were 141 deaths, according to the report of the coroner's office.
There has been talk of finding a solution to this serious health problem for years, but it is proven that, despite the good will, things can always get worse.
Deaths due to the effect of the use of synthetic opiates continue to show frightening numbers. Close to 80,000 in 2022 on a national scale, at least twice as many traffic accidents.
In San Francisco, the most vulnerable to overdoses are the homeless who live on the streets. Last year, twice as many homeless people died from this cause than the year before.
Minorities are particularly vulnerable. A third of the victims are black people, despite the fact that they only represent 6% of the city's population.
Although the problem is national, San Francisco is a metropolis with a strong economy and is therefore particularly illustrative of the depth this problem has reached.
"It's a shame that a rich city like San Francisco doesn't have a unified response to combat overdose deaths," said Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, from the University of California, to The Guardian.
The increasingly punitive approach towards consumers has only exacerbated the risks, he lamented.
"We are politically divided between those who have a lot of money and want the streets swept and those who favor an approach based on health, science and compassion," Ciccarone added.
The increase in the number of deaths began in December, but became more evident in January. 82 deaths were recorded that month. This made the city have the highest peak of deaths from this circumstance.
This point was reached after the municipal government closed a key care center where users could use drugs under health care.
San Francisco is one of the most liberal cities in the United States. Last summer, however, voters forced the resignation of the attorney general at the polls. Then Mayor London Breed appointed Brook Jenkins, who opted for a law and order approach, which has led to an increase in arrests of traffickers.
In December, Breed ordered the closure of this care center, in the Tenderloin neighborhood. Although the supervision of drug addicts was unofficial, they prevented a few deaths. Thanks to the drug Narcan, they reversed 330 opiate overdoses in 11 months.
