Drug overdose deaths in San Francisco surged last year to 713, more than twice as many as died from the coronavirus epidemic, prompting city officials and addiction professionals to re-evaluate drug policies. In a follow-up story about the grim new statistic, the New York Times speaks with an activist who says that expanding drug treatment is critical to combat the epidemic, as harm-reduction initiatives, while important, have not stopped the rising death toll. “It’s not just enough to hand out clean needles,” said Thomas Wolf, referring to harm reduction policies, which he says cross the line into enabling drug use. Such easy access to drugs, at a time when deadly fentanyl is flooding the city, makes it impossible for addicts to “get clean and stay clean,” he believes. Overdoses last year across the country spiked to nearly 90,000, but San Francisco, which champions harm-reduction, had more overdoses per capita than any other major city on the West Coast.
Meanwhile, the trial has begun in California against four opioid drug makers, in the latest round of lawsuits against the industry that is accused of fueling the opioid epidemic. Between 1997 and 2017, the industry flooded California with more than 20 billion doses of prescription opioids. The California lawsuits—part of more than 3,000 cases in nationwide opioid litigation—and may eventually prompt other defendants to reach settlements.
And finally, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has come under fire after admitting that she downed three cans of a cannabis-infused drink and then got behind the wheel of her car. Social media critics blasted DeGeneres for potentially driving under the influence of drugs, as the drinks contained intoxicating THC, which has been blamed for a growing number of fatal traffic accidents.