Fentanyl continues to wreak havoc in the United States. London Breed, the mayor of San Francisco, declared on Friday, December 17, a state of emergency in a neighborhood in the center of the city which has seen an outbreak of overdose deaths since last year, mostly linked to this opioid of synthesis.
The Tenderloin neighborhood, next to Union Square and other San Francisco tourist hotspots, has become a hotspot for opioid use, leading to daily deaths.
On average, “We lose more than two people a day because of overdoses, mainly due to fentanyl”said City Councilor Matt Haney. “It is a public health crisis, which requires an urgent response and up to the task in terms of coordination and determination”, he adds.
The number of overdoses in San Francisco has increased sharply since the mid-2010s and the arrival of synthetic opiates, much more powerful than heroin or morphine. An unprecedented number of deaths (711) was recorded last year and it is expected to be quite similar in 2021, according to projections from the newspaper San Francisco Chronicle.
Over 100,000 overdose deaths in the United States in one year
The state of emergency proclamation signed by the mayor on Friday allows local authorities to quickly open accommodation and psychological care centers, bypassing the usual town planning or public procurement rules. The measure is inspired by the one implemented across the city from February 2020 to stem the Covid-19 epidemic.
Between April 2020 and April 2021, the United States counted 100,306 fatal overdoses, an increase of 28.5% compared to the same period the previous year (78,056 deaths). This is the first time that the symbolic threshold of 100,000 deaths has been exceeded, which amounts to one death every five minutes. This scourge is fueled in particular by the circulation of counterfeit medicines, in particular via the Internet or social networks.
The neighborhood of Tenderloin has long been known for its high density of homeless people, drug addicts and drug dealers. For meme Breed, the state of emergency will allow “Break illegal activities in the neighborhood” and of “Give people the treatment and support they need”.
Alcoholism and drug addiction have clearly progressed since the start of the pandemic, which has caused the termination of many programs to help dependent people and increased the general level of stress among the population.
