San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood is ground zero for the city's opioid crisis. But the city's public defender said the mayor and district attorney's latest effort to solve it won't work.
“As the war on drugs has demonstrated, criminalizing the supply has done nothing to reduce the demand,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju.
On Wednesday, Raju and other treatment advocates gathered to urge the city to rethink its tactics for addressing the crisis.
“Let’s come together and create a broad network that helps keep people who use drugs connected and engaged in care,” said Virka Eisen of Heal Thright 360.
The ideas range from supervised consumption sites - to more supportive housing and addiction treatment.
The one common thread is that the city's approach of treatment for addicts and jail for dealers won't work.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins responded to Wednesday’s rally with a statement that reads in part, "let me be clear, it is absurd to claim the war on drugs is being restarted. My office is targeting serious dealers and working to connect drug users to treatment."
San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s office noted the city has invested heavily in treatment services, but said there's also a need for accountability.
Just last week, Breed called out those who sell on the streets and those who repeatedly refuse service.
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On Wednesday, Jenkins office announced the arrest of a suspected dealer in possession of more than 7 pounds of fentanyl.
Leading Breed to tweet "this is the accountability our residents deserve."
But Tenderloin resident Del Seymour sees is differently, said that police and the district attorney need to come together with those on the other side to find a real solution.
“Let’s go back to the table and sit down and do a collaborate approach on how we deal with our enemy fentanyl. I seen to more funerals in the last 12 months than I've been all of my 75 years," he said.
