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"content": "\u003cp>A new program to test wastewater for substances like fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine is giving San Francisco’s health officials a new window into the city’s pressing overdose crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The effort comes as San Francisco recently experienced the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11972898/2023-was-san-franciscos-deadliest-year-for-drug-overdoses-new-data-confirms\">worst year for overdose deaths\u003c/a> on record in 2023, when 806 people died of accidental overdose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Jeffrey Hom, director of population behavioral health, San Francisco Department of Public Health\"]‘For the first time, we have data that can shed light on the amounts of drugs that are being used in the city here. This is something that we haven’t had before.’[/pullquote]“For the first time, we have data that can shed light on the amounts of drugs that are being used in the city here,” said Jeffrey Hom, director of population behavioral health for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “This is something that we haven’t had before. So much of the data that we look at within the health department is based on individuals who are receiving a certain service or who have experienced a certain outcome, like a nonfatal overdose.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco health officials started tracking drug use and supply trends in November 2023 to monitor the presence of different drugs and to also check for changes in the illicit drug supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wastewater samples are collected every two weeks from two different locations, one on the city’s west side and another on the east side. Currently, the city is checking for fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, as well as all three substances in their metabolized form. The samples are then sent to a lab where they are analyzed, and the results are shared back with the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early results from the first four months of testing show there were often higher concentrations of drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine on the east side of the city compared with the west. That largely tracks with geographic data from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which releases monthly reports on overdoses in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fentanyl, a potent opioid about 50 times stronger than heroin, has contributed to the majority of recent overdose deaths in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the wastewater data showed much higher concentrations of stimulants across the city. For example, there were 1552 milligrams of methamphetamine per 1000 people per day found in samples collected on the east side of the city on March 7, 2024, compared to 34 milligrams of fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11969903,news_11975973,news_11979144\"]That doesn’t necessarily mean there are more people using stimulants, however. The body metabolizes each substance differently, making it hard to compare the prevalence of individual substances. Instead, Hom said, the city is using the findings to monitor changes in the drug supply and use trends over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not able to directly compare those and make an assumption that many more people or that much more stimulants are being used because of the way these drugs are metabolized in the body. So trying to make the comparison between drugs is difficult,” Hom said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health officials say they hope to use the data to advise the public on overdose risk and drug supply trends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The effort is part of a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which ends in August, that San Francisco and other local municipalities are participating in. But the city’s health officials say they hope to expand and continue the program after the study wraps up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Jeffrey Hom, director of population behavioral health, San Francisco Department of Public Health\"]‘Much of the potential for this kind of surveillance revolves around the opportunity to identify new drugs or something that’s just starting to make its way into the drug supply here.’[/pullquote]San Francisco previously used wastewater testing during the COVID-19 pandemic to track the rise and fall of the virus on a population level. However, the city is not alone in its endeavor to use the technology for the overdose crisis as well. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1982720/marin-health-officials-track-illicit-drug-use-by-testing-wastewater\">Marin County\u003c/a> started using the approach in July 2023. Public health officials there issued a health advisory about an increase in fentanyl overdoses that aligned with the wastewater testing, which showed higher rates and amounts of fentanyl in the same period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Much of the potential for this kind of surveillance revolves around the opportunity to identify new drugs or something that’s just starting to make its way into the drug supply here,” Hom said. “I am hopeful as we look to the next iteration of this that we not only increase the frequency of testing, but increase the number of drugs and especially novel drugs so our response can be timely and focused.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A new program to test wastewater for substances like fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine is giving San Francisco’s health officials a new window into the city’s pressing overdose crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The effort comes as San Francisco recently experienced the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11972898/2023-was-san-franciscos-deadliest-year-for-drug-overdoses-new-data-confirms\">worst year for overdose deaths\u003c/a> on record in 2023, when 806 people died of accidental overdose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“For the first time, we have data that can shed light on the amounts of drugs that are being used in the city here,” said Jeffrey Hom, director of population behavioral health for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “This is something that we haven’t had before. So much of the data that we look at within the health department is based on individuals who are receiving a certain service or who have experienced a certain outcome, like a nonfatal overdose.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco health officials started tracking drug use and supply trends in November 2023 to monitor the presence of different drugs and to also check for changes in the illicit drug supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wastewater samples are collected every two weeks from two different locations, one on the city’s west side and another on the east side. Currently, the city is checking for fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, as well as all three substances in their metabolized form. The samples are then sent to a lab where they are analyzed, and the results are shared back with the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Early results from the first four months of testing show there were often higher concentrations of drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine on the east side of the city compared with the west. That largely tracks with geographic data from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which releases monthly reports on overdoses in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fentanyl, a potent opioid about 50 times stronger than heroin, has contributed to the majority of recent overdose deaths in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the wastewater data showed much higher concentrations of stimulants across the city. For example, there were 1552 milligrams of methamphetamine per 1000 people per day found in samples collected on the east side of the city on March 7, 2024, compared to 34 milligrams of fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>That doesn’t necessarily mean there are more people using stimulants, however. The body metabolizes each substance differently, making it hard to compare the prevalence of individual substances. Instead, Hom said, the city is using the findings to monitor changes in the drug supply and use trends over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not able to directly compare those and make an assumption that many more people or that much more stimulants are being used because of the way these drugs are metabolized in the body. So trying to make the comparison between drugs is difficult,” Hom said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public health officials say they hope to use the data to advise the public on overdose risk and drug supply trends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The effort is part of a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which ends in August, that San Francisco and other local municipalities are participating in. But the city’s health officials say they hope to expand and continue the program after the study wraps up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>San Francisco previously used wastewater testing during the COVID-19 pandemic to track the rise and fall of the virus on a population level. However, the city is not alone in its endeavor to use the technology for the overdose crisis as well. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1982720/marin-health-officials-track-illicit-drug-use-by-testing-wastewater\">Marin County\u003c/a> started using the approach in July 2023. Public health officials there issued a health advisory about an increase in fentanyl overdoses that aligned with the wastewater testing, which showed higher rates and amounts of fentanyl in the same period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Much of the potential for this kind of surveillance revolves around the opportunity to identify new drugs or something that’s just starting to make its way into the drug supply here,” Hom said. “I am hopeful as we look to the next iteration of this that we not only increase the frequency of testing, but increase the number of drugs and especially novel drugs so our response can be timely and focused.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The rate of overdose deaths in San Francisco remained steady in the first two months of 2024, according to data released Monday from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new data shows there were 131 overdose deaths in San Francisco between January and February of this year. That’s compared to 136 overdose deaths over the same period a year ago. There were 811 overdose deaths in San Francisco in all of 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of these overdoses involved fentanyl, an opioid about 50 times stronger than heroin. But many people who die from an overdose in the city are combining substances with fentanyl, like methamphetamine or cocaine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Hillary Kunins, director, Behavioral Health and Mental Health SF\"]‘We want everyone to know, even though addiction is a chronic illness, recovery is possible.’[/pullquote]In response, city health officials say they are expanding opportunities for contingency management, a positive-reinforcement-based model that’s primarily used for adjusting methamphetamine and cocaine use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Recovering from stimulants improves an individual’s health and reduces their overall risk of overdose,” Christy Soran, deputy medical director of substance use services for the Department of Public Health, told reporters on Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike opioid addiction or alcoholism, there are no government-approved medications for stimulant-use disorder. Contingency management offers another option. People participating typically attend weekly or regular meetings with a group and counselor, and they take a drug test for the substance they are targeting. If the test is negative, a small stipend, such as a gift card, is offered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Percent of overdoses in Jan. – Feb. 2024 involving at least this drug\n\" aria-label=\"Bar Chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-df81A\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/df81A/3/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border: none;\" width=\"600\" height=\"321\" data-external=\"1\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6768930/\">Veterans Affairs\u003c/a> has used contingency management for decades. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376871618300784\">2018 study\u003c/a> found that, on average, VA patients attended more than half of their counseling sessions, and 91% of participants tested negative for the targeted substance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11965813,news_11972898,news_11967618\" label=\"Related Stories\"]San Francisco’s embrace of contingency management is not new. But its expansion comes alongside statewide efforts to grow access to the model.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, California became the first state to cover contingency management through Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state has also allocated $58.5 million to pilot contingency management programs in \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/Pages/DMC-ODS-Contingency-Management.aspx\">nearly two dozen other California counties\u003c/a>. In those programs, each patient receives a maximum of $599 over six months, after which they are referred for follow-up recovery programs and services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Locally, the San Francisco Department of Public Health provides contingency management at the \u003ca href=\"https://citywide.ucsf.edu/stimulant-treatment-outpatient-program-stop\">Citywide Clinic’s Stimulant Treatment Outpatient Program\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://psych.ucsf.edu/news/office-based-buprenorphine-induction-clinics-work-highlighted-national-magazine\">Office-Based Buprenorphine Induction Clinic\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://sf.gov/reports/october-2022/overdose-prevention-plan-2022\">Project HOUDINI LINK\u003c/a>. The San Francisco AIDS Foundation and others also provide similar programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, San Francisco has been working to increase opioid addiction treatments like buprenorphine or methadone medications as overdose deaths have remained at epidemic levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These medications, specifically buprenorphine and methadone, each reduce a person’s risk of dying by approximately 50%,” Hillary Kunins, director of Behavioral Health and Mental Health SF for the San Francisco Department of Public Health, said on Tuesday to reporters. “I really cannot understate the effectiveness of these medications. They save lives, and they are within every person’s reach.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Buprenorphine is available across the San Francisco Health Network, including in primary care and hospital settings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want everyone to know, even though addiction is a chronic illness, recovery is possible,” Kunins said. “There is a way out of addiction and into a healthier life.”\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The rate of overdose deaths in San Francisco remained steady in the first two months of 2024, according to data released Monday from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new data shows there were 131 overdose deaths in San Francisco between January and February of this year. That’s compared to 136 overdose deaths over the same period a year ago. There were 811 overdose deaths in San Francisco in all of 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of these overdoses involved fentanyl, an opioid about 50 times stronger than heroin. But many people who die from an overdose in the city are combining substances with fentanyl, like methamphetamine or cocaine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In response, city health officials say they are expanding opportunities for contingency management, a positive-reinforcement-based model that’s primarily used for adjusting methamphetamine and cocaine use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Recovering from stimulants improves an individual’s health and reduces their overall risk of overdose,” Christy Soran, deputy medical director of substance use services for the Department of Public Health, told reporters on Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike opioid addiction or alcoholism, there are no government-approved medications for stimulant-use disorder. Contingency management offers another option. People participating typically attend weekly or regular meetings with a group and counselor, and they take a drug test for the substance they are targeting. If the test is negative, a small stipend, such as a gift card, is offered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Percent of overdoses in Jan. – Feb. 2024 involving at least this drug\n\" aria-label=\"Bar Chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-df81A\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/df81A/3/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border: none;\" width=\"600\" height=\"321\" data-external=\"1\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6768930/\">Veterans Affairs\u003c/a> has used contingency management for decades. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376871618300784\">2018 study\u003c/a> found that, on average, VA patients attended more than half of their counseling sessions, and 91% of participants tested negative for the targeted substance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>San Francisco’s embrace of contingency management is not new. But its expansion comes alongside statewide efforts to grow access to the model.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, California became the first state to cover contingency management through Medi-Cal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state has also allocated $58.5 million to pilot contingency management programs in \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/Pages/DMC-ODS-Contingency-Management.aspx\">nearly two dozen other California counties\u003c/a>. In those programs, each patient receives a maximum of $599 over six months, after which they are referred for follow-up recovery programs and services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Locally, the San Francisco Department of Public Health provides contingency management at the \u003ca href=\"https://citywide.ucsf.edu/stimulant-treatment-outpatient-program-stop\">Citywide Clinic’s Stimulant Treatment Outpatient Program\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://psych.ucsf.edu/news/office-based-buprenorphine-induction-clinics-work-highlighted-national-magazine\">Office-Based Buprenorphine Induction Clinic\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://sf.gov/reports/october-2022/overdose-prevention-plan-2022\">Project HOUDINI LINK\u003c/a>. The San Francisco AIDS Foundation and others also provide similar programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, San Francisco has been working to increase opioid addiction treatments like buprenorphine or methadone medications as overdose deaths have remained at epidemic levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These medications, specifically buprenorphine and methadone, each reduce a person’s risk of dying by approximately 50%,” Hillary Kunins, director of Behavioral Health and Mental Health SF for the San Francisco Department of Public Health, said on Tuesday to reporters. “I really cannot understate the effectiveness of these medications. They save lives, and they are within every person’s reach.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Buprenorphine is available across the San Francisco Health Network, including in primary care and hospital settings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want everyone to know, even though addiction is a chronic illness, recovery is possible,” Kunins said. “There is a way out of addiction and into a healthier life.”\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "More California Colleges Provide Narcan Amid Ongoing Opioid Crisis",
"headTitle": "More California Colleges Provide Narcan Amid Ongoing Opioid Crisis | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>When Mel McKernan moved in with her new roommate, Braedon Ellis, they bonded quickly. Every night, she would stay up until 1 a.m. just waiting for Ellis to get back from her job so they could watch TV together. McKernan, 19, was a second-year student at Seattle University. Ellis was 20 and working as a Domino’s delivery driver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She genuinely was the light of my life,” recalled McKernan, who has since transferred to UC Berkeley. “She had this beautiful purple hair. I felt like that was just an aura that she carried around with her.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McKernan thought she had made a friend for life. The two young women lived with two other roommates in a beautiful waterfront house in Kenmore, Washington. But behind the walls, a darkness lurked. Their other roommates were addicted to fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opioid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McKernan had braced herself for the possibility of losing a roommate. But she never expected it to be Ellis. Their magnetic connection severed when Ellis overdosed from a combination of drugs that included fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It completely changed my view on opioids,” McKernan said. “Because I was like, this could hit anyone. It can hit literally anyone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976746\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976746\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-copy.jpg\" alt=\"A young person with a red shirt eye makeup, shoulder-length hair and necklaces and a nose piercing, smiles at the camera.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1174\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-copy-800x599.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-copy-1020x764.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-copy-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-copy-1536x1150.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Braedon Ellis. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Dionne Waltz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Fentanyl is now the leading cause of drug-related deaths nationwide. After a new wave of deadly overdoses among Californians 15 to 24 started to rise in 2019, lawmakers turned to California’s public colleges and universities to offer life-saving resources to its students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/sapb/Pages/Campus-Opioid-Safety-Act.aspx\">The Campus Opioid Safety Act\u003c/a>, which took effect Jan. 1, 2023, required campus health centers at most public colleges and universities to offer students free Narcan, a nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose. Some colleges and universities have since armed students with Narcan, but not all have followed suit.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The rise of fentanyl deaths\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Today, when someone in the United States dies of a drug-related overdose, it’s \u003ca href=\"https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/fentanyl#:~:text=Synthetic%20opioids%2C%20including%20fentanyl%2C%20are%20now%20the%20most%20common%20drugs%20involved%20in%C2%A0drug%20overdose%20deaths%C2%A0in%20the%20United%20States.\">usually linked to fentanyl\u003c/a>. That’s a change from \u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/media/126835/download#page=2\">20 years ago\u003c/a>, when prescription opioids like OxyContin were the leading killer, according to Theo Krzywicki, founder and CEO of End Overdose, a national nonprofit based in Los Angeles aimed at eliminating drug-related overdose deaths, especially among teens and young adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fentanyl is a very different drug than OxyContin,” Krzywicki said. “The way people use it has changed.” Because fentanyl delivers a stronger and shorter-lived high than other opioids, people often use more of it, he said, and build up a tolerance to it quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For years, the opioid epidemic hit middle-aged Californians harder, but the new wave brought on a rise in death rates for teens and young adults. By 2021, teens 15 to 19 were five times as likely to die from an opioid overdose compared to 2019. For 20- to 24-year-olds, they were over three times as likely. Meanwhile, rates for adults between 25 and 75 years old roughly doubled in the same time frame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, opioid-related fatalities among the state’s young people have started to reverse. While death rates for adults 25 and over continue to rise, rates have declined for people under 25. Since 2021, per-capita rates for opioid-related overdose deaths dropped by over a third for Californians 15 to 19 and 20 to 24.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/lF7mD/12/\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rising awareness could be what’s driving the recent decline, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. College-aged students increasingly use social media to spread information about the risks of fentanyl and where to find life-saving resources such as Narcan. Young people also tend to have stronger support systems and are less likely to use drugs alone, according to the statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Lawmakers require colleges to combat the crisis\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Melissa Hurtado, a Democratic Central Valley state senator, introduced the \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB367#:~:text=67384.%C2%A0(a,terms%20and%20conditions.\">Campus Opioid Safety Act\u003c/a>, or SB 367, in February 2021. She said she chose to target college campuses after hearing story after story of young people overdosing in her district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was just such a serious threat,” Hurtado said. “And it still is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976753\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976753\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_03-CM-copy.jpg\" alt=\"A Latina woman under a tent speaking.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_03-CM-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_03-CM-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_03-CM-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_03-CM-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_03-CM-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">State Sen. Melissa Hurtado speaks at a press conference on Oct. 14, 2022. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This January, \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB461\">another law\u003c/a>, AB 461, went into effect that added fentanyl test strips to the requirements. Drug users can use the small paper strips to check if their supply contains fentanyl. Counterfeit prescription pills, made to look like OxyContin or Adderall, \u003ca href=\"https://www.dea.gov/alert/sharp-increase-fake-prescription-pills-containing-fentanyl-and-meth#:~:text=Some%20of%20the%20most%20common%20counterfeit%20pills%20are%20made%20to%20look%20like%20prescription%20opioids%20such%20as%20oxycodone%20(Oxycontin%C2%AE%2C%20Percocet%C2%AE)%2C%20hydrocodone%20(Vicodin%C2%AE)%2C%20and%20alprazolam%20(Xanax%C2%AE)%3B%20or%20stimulants%20like%20amphetamines%20(Adderall%C2%AE).\">often contain fentanyl\u003c/a>, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The act requires campus health centers at California State University campuses and community colleges to order free Narcan through a state program called the \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/individuals/Pages/Naloxone_Distribution_Project.aspx\">Naloxone Distribution Project\u003c/a>. Schools also must educate their students about preventing overdoses and let them know where they can find opioid overdose reversal medication. The law “requests” the University of California system to do the same, stopping short of a requirement because of the system’s \u003ca href=\"https://policy.ucop.edu/delegations-of-authority/california-constitution-article-9-education.html#:~:text=The%20university%20shall%20be%20entirely,%2C%20ethnic%20heritage%2C%20or%20sex.\">constitutional autonomy\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least 100 public colleges in California have Narcan somewhere on campus, according to data from the state distribution project that included a list of all applications from colleges and universities. Although not required by law, some private universities like Stanford also offer Narcan to students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every UC and Cal State has ordered Narcan from the state distribution project in the last two years, with the exception of CSU Maritime Academy. However, CSU Maritime said in an email statement that Narcan is available through their student health center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fourteen of California’s 72 physical community college districts were not represented in the data, but Narcan could still be on those campuses. Victor Valley College in San Bernardino County ordered Narcan through its police department, so the request was categorized as law enforcement. DeAnza College in Santa Clara County received its supply of Narcan from the county health department, according to college spokesperson Marisa Spatafore.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Cal State Bakersfield gets the word out\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Hurtado represents much of Kern County, one of the deadliest counties for opioid-related overdoses among young people. In 2022, 15- to 19-year-olds in Kern County fatally overdosed on opioids at a rate three times higher than the statewide rate for the same age group, according to the California Department of Public Health. For 20- to 24-year-olds, the rate was twice as high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/avb2V/7/\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county is home to Cal State Bakersfield, whose health education department has given its students about 60 boxes of Narcan since January 2023. After completing a short online training, students can drop by the campus health clinic to pick up the opioid reversal drug.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lauren Hedlund, a health educator at Cal State Bakersfield, said her team gets the word out to students through tabling, activities, and flyers. They also bring Narcan directly to classrooms if an instructor requests it. The instructor showed the training video beforehand, and the health education team then visited the class to answer questions and hand out Narcan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s just making sure that I can reach as many students as possible so that they’re aware,” Hedlund said. She added that even if a student never needs the resources, they could know someone who does.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-some-colleges-lag-behind\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Some colleges lag behind\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>More than a year after the law went into effect, some colleges have yet to put Narcan in the hands of students. Elsewhere in Kern County, community colleges in Taft, Ridgecrest, and Bakersfield do not have a program for distributing Narcan to students. Bakersfield College is currently working on setting up a vending machine that would stock Narcan, menstrual products, and other health items, according to Marissa Perez, a medical assistant at the college.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"mindshift_62742,news_11975973,mindshift_62310,news_11969903\"]In the East Bay Area, Peralta Community College District received Narcan from the state early last year, but until recently, no efforts were made to make it available through the student health center. The district initially distributed Narcan to its security staff. No Narcan trainings have been held for students, although the safety department \u003ca href=\"https://peralta-edu.zoom.us/rec/play/pRx2NQk9vgqrJniy2Gu6qChwfHr9yyYN4FlNKHMq6D3CoXJobYui2rf8uJjOFrftvUL_OnbiXq4rqtD1.pwr82YrScr4Tq3dh?canPlayFromShare=true&from=share_recording_detail&startTime=1705616150000&componentName=rec-play&originRequestUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fperalta-edu.zoom.us%2Frec%2Fshare%2FopA52LARpVZiiOOvTconQzxZogVH5aFfHRUu17oxAAFUAZF87XhWEHLihfoKA4M6.NHj_aQT-bkukD_Ll%3FstartTime%3D1705616150000\">held a training this year\u003c/a> at an event for college employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students can request a single packaged dose of Narcan through the district’s public safety office, according to a Feb. 14 announcement sent by Amy Marshall, the associate director of public safety. The email was sent to employees but not to students. Marshall informed CalMatters via email that the health center received Narcan on Feb. 20. However, the district’s associate vice chancellor of educational services, Tina Vasconcellos, clarified in an email to CalMatters that the Narcan would be for health center staff to use within the clinic and that they would not distribute Narcan to students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson from Hurtado’s office confirmed that even if a college has Narcan somewhere on campus, the school needs to offer it to students to comply with the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-uc-berkeley-students-steer-efforts\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">UC Berkeley students steer efforts\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Crushed after losing her close friend, McKernan dropped out of Seattle University and took a year off college to stay home in Sacramento. Now 21, she’s finding her footing as a transfer student at UC Berkeley, majoring in social welfare. She’s fervent about spreading harm reduction resources like Narcan, destigmatizing addiction, and addressing the deeper systemic issues that lead to addiction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976749\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976749\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_15-copy.jpg\" alt='Students in a plaza with a tent and a banner outside that reads \"End Overdose.\"' width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_15-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_15-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_15-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_15-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_15-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">UC Berkeley End Overdose Co-Presidents Shannon McCabe (left) and Tyler Mahomes (right) pass out free fentanyl test strips at Sproul Plaza on campus in Berkeley on Jan. 23, 2024. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At her former university, McKernan had tried to organize her fellow students around overdose prevention but struggled to find enough volunteers. So when she saw students from End Overdose’s UC Berkeley chapter handing out fentanyl test strips in Sproul Plaza on a recent afternoon, she asked immediately if she could join, offering to share infographics she’d made for social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before her roommate’s death, she knew her household would benefit from Narcan, but she didn’t find out where to access it in time. “A lot of people, including myself, just learn about it too late,” McKernan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tyler Mahomes, a legal studies major at UC Berkeley, founded the chapter of End Overdose last year. It’s one of the organization’s many college chapters across the United States, where students spread overdose prevention awareness and resources to fellow students. Mahomes’ team brings Narcan directly to fraternities and other student groups and works with his university to patch holes in their harm reduction efforts. For example, he notified the university when his dorm hadn’t been restocked with overdose safety kits containing Narcan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976751\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976751\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_08-copy.jpg\" alt='A box of medicine and a pamphlet next to it that reads \"Free Fentanyl Testing Strips.\"' width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_08-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_08-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_08-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_08-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_08-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A box of Narcan nasal spray at UC Berkeley student organization End Overdose’s table at Sproul Plaza on Jan. 23, 2024. The organization passes out free fentanyl test strips to students and gives other organizations training on Narcan usage. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The students can even go where the university cannot. Last fall, the chapter volunteered at the Portola Music Festival in San Francisco to hand out Narcan to festivalgoers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students are receptive to End Overdose’s peer-to-peer, non-judgmental approach. “They don’t see us as this administrative force,” Mahomes said. “We’re students like them […] so they feel very comfortable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The approach has already seen some results. According to Mahomes, one student at a frat party recovered from an overdose after someone used Narcan provided by End Overdose.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-the-spark-that-went-out\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The spark that went out\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Ellis, the purple-haired light of McKernan’s life, left behind her mother and an 8-year-old brother when fentanyl took her life. Her mother, Dionne Waltz, would find out two days later while driving to pick her son up from school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Mel McKernan\"]‘[I]f you’re educated and you’re prepared, it’s so much less likely that you’re going to lose a life to overdose.’[/pullquote]Ellis was a “fireball,” Waltz recalled. She still misses her daughter’s kind and generous spirit. When they went out for coffee, Ellis would insist on covering the tab, even paying for the car behind them. Even though she didn’t make a lot of money, she’d always save up to buy her little brother something nice for Christmas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years later, the initial shock has faded. Waltz still grieves her only daughter. But she sees flickers of her spark everywhere: in the sunsets, in the birds, and in anything bright pink, one of Ellis’ favorite colors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“On the inside, there’s that hollow echo all the time,” Waltz said. “I think about her every single day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976756\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976756\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-03-scaled-copy.jpg\" alt=\"A mother and an 8-year-old daughter.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1119\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-03-scaled-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-03-scaled-copy-800x571.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-03-scaled-copy-1020x728.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-03-scaled-copy-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-03-scaled-copy-1536x1096.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dionne Waltz and Braedon Ellis. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Dionne Waltz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When Ellis’ spark went out, another was lit. McKernan vowed not to lose another friend to an overdose. She believes that just starting a conversation about Narcan could save others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because if you’re educated and you’re prepared, it’s so much less likely that you’re going to lose a life to overdose,” McKernan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Khan is a fellow with the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://www.calmatters.org/projects/college-journalism-network\">\u003cem>CalMatters College Journalism Network\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. This story and other higher education coverage are supported by the College Futures Foundation.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The Campus Opioid Safety Act required colleges and universities to put the power of reversing fentanyl overdoses directly into the hands of students. Some campuses give out the life-saving nasal spray Narcan, while others do not.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When Mel McKernan moved in with her new roommate, Braedon Ellis, they bonded quickly. Every night, she would stay up until 1 a.m. just waiting for Ellis to get back from her job so they could watch TV together. McKernan, 19, was a second-year student at Seattle University. Ellis was 20 and working as a Domino’s delivery driver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She genuinely was the light of my life,” recalled McKernan, who has since transferred to UC Berkeley. “She had this beautiful purple hair. I felt like that was just an aura that she carried around with her.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McKernan thought she had made a friend for life. The two young women lived with two other roommates in a beautiful waterfront house in Kenmore, Washington. But behind the walls, a darkness lurked. Their other roommates were addicted to fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opioid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>McKernan had braced herself for the possibility of losing a roommate. But she never expected it to be Ellis. Their magnetic connection severed when Ellis overdosed from a combination of drugs that included fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It completely changed my view on opioids,” McKernan said. “Because I was like, this could hit anyone. It can hit literally anyone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976746\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976746\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-copy.jpg\" alt=\"A young person with a red shirt eye makeup, shoulder-length hair and necklaces and a nose piercing, smiles at the camera.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1174\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-copy-800x599.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-copy-1020x764.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-copy-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-copy-1536x1150.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Braedon Ellis. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Dionne Waltz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Fentanyl is now the leading cause of drug-related deaths nationwide. After a new wave of deadly overdoses among Californians 15 to 24 started to rise in 2019, lawmakers turned to California’s public colleges and universities to offer life-saving resources to its students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/sapb/Pages/Campus-Opioid-Safety-Act.aspx\">The Campus Opioid Safety Act\u003c/a>, which took effect Jan. 1, 2023, required campus health centers at most public colleges and universities to offer students free Narcan, a nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose. Some colleges and universities have since armed students with Narcan, but not all have followed suit.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The rise of fentanyl deaths\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Today, when someone in the United States dies of a drug-related overdose, it’s \u003ca href=\"https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/fentanyl#:~:text=Synthetic%20opioids%2C%20including%20fentanyl%2C%20are%20now%20the%20most%20common%20drugs%20involved%20in%C2%A0drug%20overdose%20deaths%C2%A0in%20the%20United%20States.\">usually linked to fentanyl\u003c/a>. That’s a change from \u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/media/126835/download#page=2\">20 years ago\u003c/a>, when prescription opioids like OxyContin were the leading killer, according to Theo Krzywicki, founder and CEO of End Overdose, a national nonprofit based in Los Angeles aimed at eliminating drug-related overdose deaths, especially among teens and young adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fentanyl is a very different drug than OxyContin,” Krzywicki said. “The way people use it has changed.” Because fentanyl delivers a stronger and shorter-lived high than other opioids, people often use more of it, he said, and build up a tolerance to it quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For years, the opioid epidemic hit middle-aged Californians harder, but the new wave brought on a rise in death rates for teens and young adults. By 2021, teens 15 to 19 were five times as likely to die from an opioid overdose compared to 2019. For 20- to 24-year-olds, they were over three times as likely. Meanwhile, rates for adults between 25 and 75 years old roughly doubled in the same time frame.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, opioid-related fatalities among the state’s young people have started to reverse. While death rates for adults 25 and over continue to rise, rates have declined for people under 25. Since 2021, per-capita rates for opioid-related overdose deaths dropped by over a third for Californians 15 to 19 and 20 to 24.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/lF7mD/12/\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rising awareness could be what’s driving the recent decline, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. College-aged students increasingly use social media to spread information about the risks of fentanyl and where to find life-saving resources such as Narcan. Young people also tend to have stronger support systems and are less likely to use drugs alone, according to the statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Lawmakers require colleges to combat the crisis\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Melissa Hurtado, a Democratic Central Valley state senator, introduced the \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB367#:~:text=67384.%C2%A0(a,terms%20and%20conditions.\">Campus Opioid Safety Act\u003c/a>, or SB 367, in February 2021. She said she chose to target college campuses after hearing story after story of young people overdosing in her district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was just such a serious threat,” Hurtado said. “And it still is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976753\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976753\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_03-CM-copy.jpg\" alt=\"A Latina woman under a tent speaking.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_03-CM-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_03-CM-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_03-CM-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_03-CM-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/101922_Bakersfield_Election_LV_CM_03-CM-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">State Sen. Melissa Hurtado speaks at a press conference on Oct. 14, 2022. \u003ccite>(Larry Valenzuela/CalMatters/CatchLight Local)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This January, \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB461\">another law\u003c/a>, AB 461, went into effect that added fentanyl test strips to the requirements. Drug users can use the small paper strips to check if their supply contains fentanyl. Counterfeit prescription pills, made to look like OxyContin or Adderall, \u003ca href=\"https://www.dea.gov/alert/sharp-increase-fake-prescription-pills-containing-fentanyl-and-meth#:~:text=Some%20of%20the%20most%20common%20counterfeit%20pills%20are%20made%20to%20look%20like%20prescription%20opioids%20such%20as%20oxycodone%20(Oxycontin%C2%AE%2C%20Percocet%C2%AE)%2C%20hydrocodone%20(Vicodin%C2%AE)%2C%20and%20alprazolam%20(Xanax%C2%AE)%3B%20or%20stimulants%20like%20amphetamines%20(Adderall%C2%AE).\">often contain fentanyl\u003c/a>, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The act requires campus health centers at California State University campuses and community colleges to order free Narcan through a state program called the \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/individuals/Pages/Naloxone_Distribution_Project.aspx\">Naloxone Distribution Project\u003c/a>. Schools also must educate their students about preventing overdoses and let them know where they can find opioid overdose reversal medication. The law “requests” the University of California system to do the same, stopping short of a requirement because of the system’s \u003ca href=\"https://policy.ucop.edu/delegations-of-authority/california-constitution-article-9-education.html#:~:text=The%20university%20shall%20be%20entirely,%2C%20ethnic%20heritage%2C%20or%20sex.\">constitutional autonomy\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least 100 public colleges in California have Narcan somewhere on campus, according to data from the state distribution project that included a list of all applications from colleges and universities. Although not required by law, some private universities like Stanford also offer Narcan to students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every UC and Cal State has ordered Narcan from the state distribution project in the last two years, with the exception of CSU Maritime Academy. However, CSU Maritime said in an email statement that Narcan is available through their student health center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fourteen of California’s 72 physical community college districts were not represented in the data, but Narcan could still be on those campuses. Victor Valley College in San Bernardino County ordered Narcan through its police department, so the request was categorized as law enforcement. DeAnza College in Santa Clara County received its supply of Narcan from the county health department, according to college spokesperson Marisa Spatafore.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Cal State Bakersfield gets the word out\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Hurtado represents much of Kern County, one of the deadliest counties for opioid-related overdoses among young people. In 2022, 15- to 19-year-olds in Kern County fatally overdosed on opioids at a rate three times higher than the statewide rate for the same age group, according to the California Department of Public Health. For 20- to 24-year-olds, the rate was twice as high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/avb2V/7/\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county is home to Cal State Bakersfield, whose health education department has given its students about 60 boxes of Narcan since January 2023. After completing a short online training, students can drop by the campus health clinic to pick up the opioid reversal drug.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lauren Hedlund, a health educator at Cal State Bakersfield, said her team gets the word out to students through tabling, activities, and flyers. They also bring Narcan directly to classrooms if an instructor requests it. The instructor showed the training video beforehand, and the health education team then visited the class to answer questions and hand out Narcan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s just making sure that I can reach as many students as possible so that they’re aware,” Hedlund said. She added that even if a student never needs the resources, they could know someone who does.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-some-colleges-lag-behind\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Some colleges lag behind\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>More than a year after the law went into effect, some colleges have yet to put Narcan in the hands of students. Elsewhere in Kern County, community colleges in Taft, Ridgecrest, and Bakersfield do not have a program for distributing Narcan to students. Bakersfield College is currently working on setting up a vending machine that would stock Narcan, menstrual products, and other health items, according to Marissa Perez, a medical assistant at the college.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In the East Bay Area, Peralta Community College District received Narcan from the state early last year, but until recently, no efforts were made to make it available through the student health center. The district initially distributed Narcan to its security staff. No Narcan trainings have been held for students, although the safety department \u003ca href=\"https://peralta-edu.zoom.us/rec/play/pRx2NQk9vgqrJniy2Gu6qChwfHr9yyYN4FlNKHMq6D3CoXJobYui2rf8uJjOFrftvUL_OnbiXq4rqtD1.pwr82YrScr4Tq3dh?canPlayFromShare=true&from=share_recording_detail&startTime=1705616150000&componentName=rec-play&originRequestUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fperalta-edu.zoom.us%2Frec%2Fshare%2FopA52LARpVZiiOOvTconQzxZogVH5aFfHRUu17oxAAFUAZF87XhWEHLihfoKA4M6.NHj_aQT-bkukD_Ll%3FstartTime%3D1705616150000\">held a training this year\u003c/a> at an event for college employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students can request a single packaged dose of Narcan through the district’s public safety office, according to a Feb. 14 announcement sent by Amy Marshall, the associate director of public safety. The email was sent to employees but not to students. Marshall informed CalMatters via email that the health center received Narcan on Feb. 20. However, the district’s associate vice chancellor of educational services, Tina Vasconcellos, clarified in an email to CalMatters that the Narcan would be for health center staff to use within the clinic and that they would not distribute Narcan to students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson from Hurtado’s office confirmed that even if a college has Narcan somewhere on campus, the school needs to offer it to students to comply with the law.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-uc-berkeley-students-steer-efforts\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">UC Berkeley students steer efforts\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Crushed after losing her close friend, McKernan dropped out of Seattle University and took a year off college to stay home in Sacramento. Now 21, she’s finding her footing as a transfer student at UC Berkeley, majoring in social welfare. She’s fervent about spreading harm reduction resources like Narcan, destigmatizing addiction, and addressing the deeper systemic issues that lead to addiction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976749\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976749\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_15-copy.jpg\" alt='Students in a plaza with a tent and a banner outside that reads \"End Overdose.\"' width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_15-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_15-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_15-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_15-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_15-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">UC Berkeley End Overdose Co-Presidents Shannon McCabe (left) and Tyler Mahomes (right) pass out free fentanyl test strips at Sproul Plaza on campus in Berkeley on Jan. 23, 2024. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At her former university, McKernan had tried to organize her fellow students around overdose prevention but struggled to find enough volunteers. So when she saw students from End Overdose’s UC Berkeley chapter handing out fentanyl test strips in Sproul Plaza on a recent afternoon, she asked immediately if she could join, offering to share infographics she’d made for social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before her roommate’s death, she knew her household would benefit from Narcan, but she didn’t find out where to access it in time. “A lot of people, including myself, just learn about it too late,” McKernan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tyler Mahomes, a legal studies major at UC Berkeley, founded the chapter of End Overdose last year. It’s one of the organization’s many college chapters across the United States, where students spread overdose prevention awareness and resources to fellow students. Mahomes’ team brings Narcan directly to fraternities and other student groups and works with his university to patch holes in their harm reduction efforts. For example, he notified the university when his dorm hadn’t been restocked with overdose safety kits containing Narcan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976751\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976751\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_08-copy.jpg\" alt='A box of medicine and a pamphlet next to it that reads \"Free Fentanyl Testing Strips.\"' width=\"1568\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_08-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_08-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_08-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_08-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/012324_Opioid-Safety_JY_CM_08-copy-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A box of Narcan nasal spray at UC Berkeley student organization End Overdose’s table at Sproul Plaza on Jan. 23, 2024. The organization passes out free fentanyl test strips to students and gives other organizations training on Narcan usage. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The students can even go where the university cannot. Last fall, the chapter volunteered at the Portola Music Festival in San Francisco to hand out Narcan to festivalgoers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Students are receptive to End Overdose’s peer-to-peer, non-judgmental approach. “They don’t see us as this administrative force,” Mahomes said. “We’re students like them […] so they feel very comfortable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The approach has already seen some results. According to Mahomes, one student at a frat party recovered from an overdose after someone used Narcan provided by End Overdose.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-the-spark-that-went-out\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The spark that went out\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Ellis, the purple-haired light of McKernan’s life, left behind her mother and an 8-year-old brother when fentanyl took her life. Her mother, Dionne Waltz, would find out two days later while driving to pick her son up from school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Ellis was a “fireball,” Waltz recalled. She still misses her daughter’s kind and generous spirit. When they went out for coffee, Ellis would insist on covering the tab, even paying for the car behind them. Even though she didn’t make a lot of money, she’d always save up to buy her little brother something nice for Christmas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years later, the initial shock has faded. Waltz still grieves her only daughter. But she sees flickers of her spark everywhere: in the sunsets, in the birds, and in anything bright pink, one of Ellis’ favorite colors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“On the inside, there’s that hollow echo all the time,” Waltz said. “I think about her every single day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11976756\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1568px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11976756\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-03-scaled-copy.jpg\" alt=\"A mother and an 8-year-old daughter.\" width=\"1568\" height=\"1119\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-03-scaled-copy.jpg 1568w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-03-scaled-copy-800x571.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-03-scaled-copy-1020x728.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-03-scaled-copy-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/02/021624-Braedon-Ellis-CM-03-scaled-copy-1536x1096.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1568px) 100vw, 1568px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dionne Waltz and Braedon Ellis. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Dionne Waltz)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When Ellis’ spark went out, another was lit. McKernan vowed not to lose another friend to an overdose. She believes that just starting a conversation about Narcan could save others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because if you’re educated and you’re prepared, it’s so much less likely that you’re going to lose a life to overdose,” McKernan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Khan is a fellow with the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://www.calmatters.org/projects/college-journalism-network\">\u003cem>CalMatters College Journalism Network\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. This story and other higher education coverage are supported by the College Futures Foundation.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Certain opioid-treatment medications that help fight addiction and prevent overdoses may now be easier to access after \u003ca href=\"https://www.axios.com/2024/02/02/opioid-treatment-restrictionshttps://www.axios.com/2024/02/02/opioid-treatment-restrictions\">the federal government this month\u003c/a> loosened restrictions on obtaining them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The updated rules essentially make permanent the pandemic-era changes that relaxed barriers to treatment, such as no longer requiring some patients to show up in person every day to take methadone and other medications — a change that cities like San Francisco found effective in increasing participation in such programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The relaxed rules come as San Francisco reported 806 overdose deaths in 2023 — more than any other year on record, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-02/2024%2002_OCME%20Overdose%20Report.pdf\">updated figures (PDF)\u003c/a> from the city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. In January 2024 alone, San Francisco reported 66 overdose deaths, mostly driven by fentanyl, a synthetic opioid about 50 times more potent than heroin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal public health officials are watching the West Coast closely as the overdose crisis in this part of the country intensifies. The Biden administration has so far allocated $83 billion toward treatment programs, an increase of more than 40% over the previous administration’s investment, according to the White House.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the same day, the Biden administration announced it was loosening restrictions, Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (aka “Biden’s drug czar”), spoke to KQED about addressing the opioid epidemic in San Francisco and elsewhere across the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The following interview has been modified for clarity and length.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>KQED: What could San Francisco do \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003ci>more of \u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cb>to try and stem its current tide of drug overdoses?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gupta\u003c/strong>: When we look at these types of epidemics across the country, where we find successful examples is where there’s a really good balance of both expanding treatment, accessing life-saving drugs, like Narcan, which actually are an opioid antagonist and connecting people to treatment. And one of the things that needs to be done is to ensure that naloxone (the generic name for Narcan) is available in more public spaces — malls and schools and restaurants and other offices. But at the same time, also going after the sort of the financial networks of drug trafficking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today’s announcement is really about expanding treatment access, removing barriers to treatment, providing more resources in terms of test strips for not just fentanyl but also xylazine, the animal tranquilizer that is now being found more and more mixed with fentanyl, and making the response so much more complicated. The goal here is really to prioritize saving lives, prioritize, getting people the assistance that they need in a not stigmatizing way. And that happens when we treat addiction as a disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Where does the administration stand right now on supervised consumption sites, where people can consume illegal drugs in a sterile, supervised environment? If Biden gets four more years, do you think we’ll see real change on that front?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Let me first talk about the harm-reduction approach that this administration is taking — the first in history to do so. We’ve taken an approach to focus on three specific policies that include getting naloxone into the hands of people. Having opioid overdose reversal medication is really the best way to save lives immediately.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"more on the overdose crisis\" tag=\"fentanyl\"]Second is syringe-service programs. The third is drug checking. All three approaches are evidence-based and really supported by decades of data to demonstrate their efficacy. But also, result in cost savings, life savings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is federal litigation ongoing at this point (regarding supervised consumption sites), so I’ll stay away from commenting specifically on particular avenues beyond those that we have federal policy behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What is important in today’s announcement is to make permanent some of these COVID-era flexibilities, like take-home medications and telehealth provisions. These allow expansion of treatment access to people not only in urban areas but also in rural and marginalized communities because oftentimes, we know that there’s a disparate access to who gets treatment and who doesn’t get treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, people behind bars. We know today there are about 2 million Americans behind bars, and two-thirds are there for something related to drugs. And yet, the treatment in incarceration or in custody is very uneven across the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today’s announcement allows treatment programs within jails and prisons to not (have to) be designated as opioid-treatment providers. They can be a clinic and still be able to provide those lifesaving treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>I’ve spoken to incarcerated people who have told me about smuggling life-saving medications like buprenorphine into prisons. So, is this change aimed at addressing that? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes. It is a top priority for the president to make sure we are doing something about these tens of thousands of people that are dying right after reentry each year. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is now allowing Medicaid waivers for states to apply to be able to allow treatment in custody 90 days before release. The whole idea here is to get people treatment when they are reentering society, so then they’re able to again get those vocational opportunities, educational opportunities, economic opportunities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Has California applied for that waiver?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes. California was the first one to apply and has already received that waiver. We’re working closely with the state on implementation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Given the abundance of the illicit drug supply right now, when can we expect to see the current crisis to change? What are your projections?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last November, President Biden met with President Xi Jinping from the People’s Republic of China at the APEC summit in San Francisco, and Xi made a commitment to address the fentanyl supply chain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our team just returned from Beijing this week. We are confident that if (cooperation) continues forward, the supply of those chemicals that ultimately end up being turned into fentanyl in Mexico will be disrupted. So it’s going to be important for us to continue to hold those individual governments accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As we address this, we still have to focus on the public health side of this at the same time. So, it’s important to view these as two sides of the same coin. And this is not like an overnight thing. It takes a while for these actions and policy changes to have effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, we’re seeing people overdosing and dying. So, we have to continue with the public health efforts while addressing the supply side.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Second is syringe-service programs. The third is drug checking. All three approaches are evidence-based and really supported by decades of data to demonstrate their efficacy. But also, result in cost savings, life savings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is federal litigation ongoing at this point (regarding supervised consumption sites), so I’ll stay away from commenting specifically on particular avenues beyond those that we have federal policy behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What is important in today’s announcement is to make permanent some of these COVID-era flexibilities, like take-home medications and telehealth provisions. These allow expansion of treatment access to people not only in urban areas but also in rural and marginalized communities because oftentimes, we know that there’s a disparate access to who gets treatment and who doesn’t get treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, people behind bars. We know today there are about 2 million Americans behind bars, and two-thirds are there for something related to drugs. And yet, the treatment in incarceration or in custody is very uneven across the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today’s announcement allows treatment programs within jails and prisons to not (have to) be designated as opioid-treatment providers. They can be a clinic and still be able to provide those lifesaving treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>I’ve spoken to incarcerated people who have told me about smuggling life-saving medications like buprenorphine into prisons. So, is this change aimed at addressing that? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes. It is a top priority for the president to make sure we are doing something about these tens of thousands of people that are dying right after reentry each year. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is now allowing Medicaid waivers for states to apply to be able to allow treatment in custody 90 days before release. The whole idea here is to get people treatment when they are reentering society, so then they’re able to again get those vocational opportunities, educational opportunities, economic opportunities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Has California applied for that waiver?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes. California was the first one to apply and has already received that waiver. We’re working closely with the state on implementation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Given the abundance of the illicit drug supply right now, when can we expect to see the current crisis to change? What are your projections?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last November, President Biden met with President Xi Jinping from the People’s Republic of China at the APEC summit in San Francisco, and Xi made a commitment to address the fentanyl supply chain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our team just returned from Beijing this week. We are confident that if (cooperation) continues forward, the supply of those chemicals that ultimately end up being turned into fentanyl in Mexico will be disrupted. So it’s going to be important for us to continue to hold those individual governments accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As we address this, we still have to focus on the public health side of this at the same time. So, it’s important to view these as two sides of the same coin. And this is not like an overnight thing. It takes a while for these actions and policy changes to have effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>San Francisco recorded 806\u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-01/2024%2001_OCME%20Overdose%20Report.pdf\"> drug overdose deaths\u003c/a> in 2023, more than in any other year on record, a tragic milestone that experts have predicted for months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every 4 1/2 minutes, someone dies of overdose,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, at a press conference on Wednesday, detailing new preliminary data from the city’s medical examiner’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This local and national crisis is driven by multiple factors,” he added, pointing to a combination of pharmaceutical marketing, poverty, limited drug-treatment options and “decades of under-investment in behavioral health care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly 80% of all overdose deaths in the city last year involved fentanyl, a synthetic opioid about 50 times stronger than heroin, the new data shows. Commonly used in medical settings to treat pain, fentanyl first appeared in the illicit drug supply on the East Coast around 2013 and began wreaking havoc in San Francisco and other West Coast cities about five years later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The data also shows a slight uptick in the presence of xylazine, also known as tranq, in overdose deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe id=\"datawrapper-chart-3jNer\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"San Francisco total overdose deaths in 2023\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/3jNer/8/\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Stacked Bars\" data-external=\"1\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cscript type=\"text/javascript\">!function(){\"use strict\";window.addEventListener(\"message\",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r=0;r\u003ce.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();\n\u003c/script>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Previously, San Francisco’s worst overdose year on record had been in 2020 — with 726 recorded deaths — as overdoses spiked after the city went under a strict COVID-19 shelter-in-place order, severely limiting many medical services and prevention options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The following two years saw a slight drop in overdose deaths, a change that medical experts say is hard to attribute to any single factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, one tool that San Francisco employed in 2022 — a supervised consumption site — was found to have prevented more than 300 overdose deaths, according to city data and independent research. People struggling with addiction could come \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11915870/inside-san-franciscos-tenderloin-center-that-serves-hundreds-every-day\">to the facility near Civic Center\u003c/a> to use illicit drugs in a sterile environment, with medically-trained staff on-site to reverse overdoses and, ideally, connect participants to other crucial resources, like housing, drug treatment and basic health services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe title=\"San Francisco overdose deaths by month in 2023\" aria-label=\"Column Chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-z4FUt\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/z4FUt/12/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"500\" data-external=\"1\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cscript type=\"text/javascript\">!function(){\"use strict\";window.addEventListener(\"message\",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r=0;r\u003ce.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();\n\u003c/script>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11915870/inside-san-franciscos-tenderloin-center-that-serves-hundreds-every-day\">The city ran a single supervised consumption site, called the Tenderloin Center\u003c/a>, for 11 months in 2022 and reported no overdose deaths at the facility during that time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the site’s high-visibility location in United Nations Plaza drew sharp criticism, particularly from local business owners, and it was shuttered by the end of that year.[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"overdose-deaths\"]Dr. Colfax on Wednesday said supervised consumption sites could be an important tool to help the city get a grasp on its compounding overdose crisis. But the city has so far refrained from relaunching that model, largely due to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s veto of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1980034/california-allows-supervised-illicit-drug-use-to-prevent-overdoses\">2022 bill\u003c/a> that would have allowed San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles to legally operate such sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We call on our legislators to make greater investments in behavioral health care, both mental health and substance-use treatment,” Colfax said. “We call on them to eliminate barriers to safe consumption sites, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11941618/sfs-mobile-clinics-made-opioid-treatment-more-accessible-during-the-pandemic-but-will-they-stay\">to access methadone\u003c/a> and make all treatment more accessible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also implored lawmakers to better support the country’s behavioral health workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can’t deliver services needed if we can’t hire and train a workforce,” Colfax said, noting that over 25,000 people are currently receiving care for behavioral health disorders in the city’s overwhelmed public health network.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, San Francisco is working to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11945418/san-francisco-has-doubled-participants-of-this-opioid-treatment-heres-why\">increase access to treatment facilities and medications like buprenorphine\u003c/a> that help reduce opioid cravings, he said. And just last year, it distributed more than 125,000 kits of naloxone, the fast-acting medication that can reverse opioid overdoses, directly to health workers and people who use drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Saving a life is the first priority, then we can connect you to treatment,” Colfax said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the city’s street response crews that directly respond to reported overdoses increased by nearly a third last year, according to Hillary Kunins, the city’s director of behavioral health and the head of the Mental Health SF program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city’s street teams, she said Wednesday, “have expanded to include a multidisciplinary approach with team members out and about in the highest-need areas, and we are following people over time with consistency and persistence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor London Breed \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/breed-police-2024-election-18428814.php\">has also called on law enforcement to crack down harder\u003c/a> on public drug use and dealing and pushed for more arrests of both users and dealers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite those efforts, overdose deaths have continued to climb as highly potent synthetic substances like fentanyl continue to flood the illicit drug market, and federal funding for behavioral health care support dwindles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health workers on the ground, like Britt Rubin, a substance-use counselor on the city’s street response team, said a key part of her work is keeping up with the ever-changing drug landscape and understanding what people need to know to stay safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just have real talk with people in the substance-using community about what’s going on. Have the drugs changed? Is this what you expected and what you were seeking?” Rubin said at Wednesday’s press conference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest overdose report shows that men accounted for the vast majority of San Francisco's overdose deaths last year (nearly 83%). It also finds that the city's Black residents were disproportionately impacted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe id=\"datawrapper-chart-EJD6r\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"San Francisco overdose deaths by race in 2023\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/EJD6r/5/\" height=\"548\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Donut Chart\" data-external=\"1\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cscript type=\"text/javascript\">!function(){\"use strict\";window.addEventListener(\"message\",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r=0;r\u003ce.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();\u003c/script>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Black people in San Francisco accounted for roughly 31% of all overdose deaths in 2023 — second only to white people — despite making up less than 5% of the city’s total population, the data shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tyrone Martin, a peer supervisor with the public health department, who helps people in the Tenderloin struggling with substance use, said his journey from addiction to recovery was supported by family and outreach teams similar to the one he works with now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I experienced compassion, and I want to give that back,” Martin said. “It’s not linear what we do … but one thing I will say is that when there is genuine authentic outreach going on in the TL [Tenderloin], there is success.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>San Francisco recorded 806\u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/sites/default/files/2024-01/2024%2001_OCME%20Overdose%20Report.pdf\"> drug overdose deaths\u003c/a> in 2023, more than in any other year on record, a tragic milestone that experts have predicted for months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every 4 1/2 minutes, someone dies of overdose,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, at a press conference on Wednesday, detailing new preliminary data from the city’s medical examiner’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This local and national crisis is driven by multiple factors,” he added, pointing to a combination of pharmaceutical marketing, poverty, limited drug-treatment options and “decades of under-investment in behavioral health care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly 80% of all overdose deaths in the city last year involved fentanyl, a synthetic opioid about 50 times stronger than heroin, the new data shows. Commonly used in medical settings to treat pain, fentanyl first appeared in the illicit drug supply on the East Coast around 2013 and began wreaking havoc in San Francisco and other West Coast cities about five years later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The data also shows a slight uptick in the presence of xylazine, also known as tranq, in overdose deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe id=\"datawrapper-chart-3jNer\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"San Francisco total overdose deaths in 2023\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/3jNer/8/\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Stacked Bars\" data-external=\"1\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cscript type=\"text/javascript\">!function(){\"use strict\";window.addEventListener(\"message\",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r=0;r\u003ce.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();\n\u003c/script>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Previously, San Francisco’s worst overdose year on record had been in 2020 — with 726 recorded deaths — as overdoses spiked after the city went under a strict COVID-19 shelter-in-place order, severely limiting many medical services and prevention options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The following two years saw a slight drop in overdose deaths, a change that medical experts say is hard to attribute to any single factor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, one tool that San Francisco employed in 2022 — a supervised consumption site — was found to have prevented more than 300 overdose deaths, according to city data and independent research. People struggling with addiction could come \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11915870/inside-san-franciscos-tenderloin-center-that-serves-hundreds-every-day\">to the facility near Civic Center\u003c/a> to use illicit drugs in a sterile environment, with medically-trained staff on-site to reverse overdoses and, ideally, connect participants to other crucial resources, like housing, drug treatment and basic health services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe title=\"San Francisco overdose deaths by month in 2023\" aria-label=\"Column Chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-z4FUt\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/z4FUt/12/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"500\" data-external=\"1\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cscript type=\"text/javascript\">!function(){\"use strict\";window.addEventListener(\"message\",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r=0;r\u003ce.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();\n\u003c/script>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11915870/inside-san-franciscos-tenderloin-center-that-serves-hundreds-every-day\">The city ran a single supervised consumption site, called the Tenderloin Center\u003c/a>, for 11 months in 2022 and reported no overdose deaths at the facility during that time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the site’s high-visibility location in United Nations Plaza drew sharp criticism, particularly from local business owners, and it was shuttered by the end of that year.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Dr. Colfax on Wednesday said supervised consumption sites could be an important tool to help the city get a grasp on its compounding overdose crisis. But the city has so far refrained from relaunching that model, largely due to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s veto of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1980034/california-allows-supervised-illicit-drug-use-to-prevent-overdoses\">2022 bill\u003c/a> that would have allowed San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles to legally operate such sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We call on our legislators to make greater investments in behavioral health care, both mental health and substance-use treatment,” Colfax said. “We call on them to eliminate barriers to safe consumption sites, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11941618/sfs-mobile-clinics-made-opioid-treatment-more-accessible-during-the-pandemic-but-will-they-stay\">to access methadone\u003c/a> and make all treatment more accessible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also implored lawmakers to better support the country’s behavioral health workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can’t deliver services needed if we can’t hire and train a workforce,” Colfax said, noting that over 25,000 people are currently receiving care for behavioral health disorders in the city’s overwhelmed public health network.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, San Francisco is working to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11945418/san-francisco-has-doubled-participants-of-this-opioid-treatment-heres-why\">increase access to treatment facilities and medications like buprenorphine\u003c/a> that help reduce opioid cravings, he said. And just last year, it distributed more than 125,000 kits of naloxone, the fast-acting medication that can reverse opioid overdoses, directly to health workers and people who use drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Saving a life is the first priority, then we can connect you to treatment,” Colfax said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the city’s street response crews that directly respond to reported overdoses increased by nearly a third last year, according to Hillary Kunins, the city’s director of behavioral health and the head of the Mental Health SF program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city’s street teams, she said Wednesday, “have expanded to include a multidisciplinary approach with team members out and about in the highest-need areas, and we are following people over time with consistency and persistence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor London Breed \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/breed-police-2024-election-18428814.php\">has also called on law enforcement to crack down harder\u003c/a> on public drug use and dealing and pushed for more arrests of both users and dealers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite those efforts, overdose deaths have continued to climb as highly potent synthetic substances like fentanyl continue to flood the illicit drug market, and federal funding for behavioral health care support dwindles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health workers on the ground, like Britt Rubin, a substance-use counselor on the city’s street response team, said a key part of her work is keeping up with the ever-changing drug landscape and understanding what people need to know to stay safe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just have real talk with people in the substance-using community about what’s going on. Have the drugs changed? Is this what you expected and what you were seeking?” Rubin said at Wednesday’s press conference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest overdose report shows that men accounted for the vast majority of San Francisco's overdose deaths last year (nearly 83%). It also finds that the city's Black residents were disproportionately impacted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe id=\"datawrapper-chart-EJD6r\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"San Francisco overdose deaths by race in 2023\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/EJD6r/5/\" height=\"548\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Donut Chart\" data-external=\"1\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cscript type=\"text/javascript\">!function(){\"use strict\";window.addEventListener(\"message\",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r=0;r\u003ce.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();\u003c/script>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Black people in San Francisco accounted for roughly 31% of all overdose deaths in 2023 — second only to white people — despite making up less than 5% of the city’s total population, the data shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tyrone Martin, a peer supervisor with the public health department, who helps people in the Tenderloin struggling with substance use, said his journey from addiction to recovery was supported by family and outreach teams similar to the one he works with now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I experienced compassion, and I want to give that back,” Martin said. “It’s not linear what we do … but one thing I will say is that when there is genuine authentic outreach going on in the TL [Tenderloin], there is success.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>As the number of overdose deaths in San Francisco \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11967618/san-francisco-projected-to-reach-highest-overdose-death-toll-in-2023\">surpasses previous years\u003c/a>, city officials are expanding wastewater testing for fentanyl and other substances to better inform public health responses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of Public Health on Thursday announced its wastewater analysis plan, the same day that the Office of the Medical Examiner released its latest dataset showing that there have been more overdose deaths in San Francisco this year than in previous years. [pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Dr. Hillary Kunins, director of behavioral health services, San Francisco Department of Public Health\"]‘Data from wastewater testing will help provide information about the presence of risky substances in San Francisco and prompt more strategic interventions aimed at saving lives.’[/pullquote]There were 752 overdose deaths in San Francisco from January to November 2023, preliminary data from the medical examiner shows. In 2020, the worst year on record previously, there were 726 overdose deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need all the tools available to identify the presence of substances that may be used to halt and reverse this deadly epidemic,” said Dr. Hillary Kunins, director of behavioral health services at SFDPH. “Data from wastewater testing will help provide information about the presence of risky substances in San Francisco and prompt more strategic interventions aimed at saving lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fentanyl, an opioid about 50 times stronger than heroin, is the most common substance associated with the recent spike in overdose deaths in San Francisco and across other major West Coast cities. It is commonly used in surgical settings under medical supervision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city will also be monitoring wastewater for levels of methamphetamine, amphetamine, cocaine and xylazine, which have been used in combination with fentanyl in some overdoses and also naloxone, a fast-acting opioid overdose reversal medicine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco is among 70 different U.S. regions working with the National Institute on Drug Abuse to measure the presence of the substances through wastewater testing. [pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Jeffrey Hom, director of population behavioral health, San Francisco\"]‘Elevated levels of drugs and drug metabolites could be used to predict higher risk periods of overdose and could prompt interventions by the city.’[/pullquote]The idea is to have better foresight into what substances are present in the illicit drug supply and to direct public health resources in response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no other way for us to understand, at a population level, what all the different drugs being consumed are,” said Jeffrey Hom, director of population behavioral health for San Francisco, at a press conference on Thursday. “Elevated levels of drugs and drug metabolites could be used to predict higher risk periods of overdose and could prompt interventions by the city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Research from other jurisdictions already monitoring wastewater for opioids and other substances has shown some correlation between rising levels of risky substances and increased overdose deaths as well as calls to 911 for overdose response. [aside postID=news_11965813 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/GettyImages-53134889-1020x680.jpg']“This can help us explain other trends we are seeing and that can help guide our response,” Hom said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today’s grim milestone was projected months ago by experts tracking the evolution of the opioid crisis across the country. Before fentanyl arrived in California’s illicit drug supply, roughly around 2019, several East Coast cities saw overdoses skyrocket just a few years earlier, also largely due to fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, overdose deaths are concentrated in the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods, medical examiner data shows. The majority of overdose deaths in 2023 were among white San Franciscans. However, rates among Black and Latinx residents are increasing much faster than for white residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Thursday’s press conference, health officials called on the federal government to fund more public health responses to the crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fentanyl crisis is a national one, and it’s affecting cities like San Francisco,” Kunins said. “We need the support and resources of the federal government, and this program is an example.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As the number of overdose deaths in San Francisco \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11967618/san-francisco-projected-to-reach-highest-overdose-death-toll-in-2023\">surpasses previous years\u003c/a>, city officials are expanding wastewater testing for fentanyl and other substances to better inform public health responses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Department of Public Health on Thursday announced its wastewater analysis plan, the same day that the Office of the Medical Examiner released its latest dataset showing that there have been more overdose deaths in San Francisco this year than in previous years. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>There were 752 overdose deaths in San Francisco from January to November 2023, preliminary data from the medical examiner shows. In 2020, the worst year on record previously, there were 726 overdose deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need all the tools available to identify the presence of substances that may be used to halt and reverse this deadly epidemic,” said Dr. Hillary Kunins, director of behavioral health services at SFDPH. “Data from wastewater testing will help provide information about the presence of risky substances in San Francisco and prompt more strategic interventions aimed at saving lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fentanyl, an opioid about 50 times stronger than heroin, is the most common substance associated with the recent spike in overdose deaths in San Francisco and across other major West Coast cities. It is commonly used in surgical settings under medical supervision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city will also be monitoring wastewater for levels of methamphetamine, amphetamine, cocaine and xylazine, which have been used in combination with fentanyl in some overdoses and also naloxone, a fast-acting opioid overdose reversal medicine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco is among 70 different U.S. regions working with the National Institute on Drug Abuse to measure the presence of the substances through wastewater testing. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The idea is to have better foresight into what substances are present in the illicit drug supply and to direct public health resources in response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is no other way for us to understand, at a population level, what all the different drugs being consumed are,” said Jeffrey Hom, director of population behavioral health for San Francisco, at a press conference on Thursday. “Elevated levels of drugs and drug metabolites could be used to predict higher risk periods of overdose and could prompt interventions by the city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Research from other jurisdictions already monitoring wastewater for opioids and other substances has shown some correlation between rising levels of risky substances and increased overdose deaths as well as calls to 911 for overdose response. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“This can help us explain other trends we are seeing and that can help guide our response,” Hom said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today’s grim milestone was projected months ago by experts tracking the evolution of the opioid crisis across the country. Before fentanyl arrived in California’s illicit drug supply, roughly around 2019, several East Coast cities saw overdoses skyrocket just a few years earlier, also largely due to fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, overdose deaths are concentrated in the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods, medical examiner data shows. The majority of overdose deaths in 2023 were among white San Franciscans. However, rates among Black and Latinx residents are increasing much faster than for white residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Thursday’s press conference, health officials called on the federal government to fund more public health responses to the crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fentanyl crisis is a national one, and it’s affecting cities like San Francisco,” Kunins said. “We need the support and resources of the federal government, and this program is an example.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Madison Bernard climbed into bed before dawn with her toddler, Charlotte, who was asleep next to a nightstand strewn with straws, burned tinfoil and a white powder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hours later, the mother woke and found her daughter struggling to breathe, according to investigators who described the scene in court documents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After being rushed in an ambulance to a hospital, the 15-month-old girl died from a fentanyl overdose. Her mother and father, whom authorities said brought the drugs into their California home, were charged with murder and are awaiting trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple has pleaded not guilty but are part of a growing number of parents across the U.S. being charged amid an escalating opioid crisis that has claimed an increasing number of children as collateral victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some 20 states have so-called “drug-induced homicide” laws, which allow prosecutors to press murder or manslaughter charges against anyone who supplies or exposes a person to drugs causing a fatal overdose. The laws are intended to target drug dealers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, where the Legislature has failed to pass such laws, prosecutors in at least three counties are turning to drunk driving laws to charge parents whose children die from fentanyl overdose. It’s a unique approach that will soon be tested in court as the cases head to trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the ramped-up enforcement say that by now those who use the synthetic opioid know the lethality of the drug and, like drunk drivers, they should know the consequences of exposing their children to their actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics say the parents didn’t intend to kill their children but instead made poor choices because of their addictions and are being further punished instead of being offered help.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Charlie Smith, president, National District Attorneys Association\"]‘These are tragic cases because drug addiction has destroyed a precious life and the parents face the consequences of their reckless actions.’[/pullquote]The debate comes as the country battles with how to effectively diminish the use of the highly accessible and extremely deadly drug.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Authorities believe some of the children died after touching something with the powdery substance and then touching their eyes or mouth. In one case, the drug may have been on the hands of a parent who prepared the baby’s bottle. The drug is not absorbed into the skin but experts say it can be lethal if as little as 2 milligrams, about the weight of a mosquito, enters the body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are tragic cases because drug addiction has destroyed a precious life and the parents face the consequences of their reckless actions,” said Charlie Smith, the top prosecutor in Frederick County, Maryland, and president of the National District Attorneys Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Parents also can face charges if young children become seriously ill or die from crack, heroin and cocaine, but such cases are rare because a sizeable amount must be ingested, Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is really a first in the history of our country because we have a drug on the streets that can potentially kill you instantly with a minor amount of product,” Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors have a difficult decision to make when determining whether to charge parents, but Smith said the goal is to deter others from doing the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He prosecuted a case in which \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/maryland-22c0d98de68294f8aa98ec99bba727f2\">parents in Maryland were convicted of involuntary manslaughter\u003c/a> in the 2020 death of their 2-month-old son. The Mount Airy couple had mixed fentanyl in the same bathroom where they prepared bottles for their infant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jeremy Whitney Frazier and Heather Marie Frazier were each sentenced in December to five years in prison and five years of supervised probation.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11959112,mindshift_62310,news_11950467\"]The National District Attorneys Association doesn’t track how many parents have been charged for exposing their children to fentanyl, but news reports and interviews with prosecutors show such cases have been on the rise since the onset of the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/toddler-fentanyl-overdose-mother-77675076ebb91cab37048656527dbddb\">a Maine woman pleaded guilty to manslaughter\u003c/a> after her 14-month-old son’s fentanyl overdose. Investigators found fentanyl on a blanket and sheet where Ashley Malloy’s son Karson had been sleeping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>States such as Maryland that don’t have “drug-induced homicide” laws often charge parents with manslaughter, Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, prosecutors have turned to a drunk driving law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors in Riverside, Sonoma and Stanislaus counties have charged parents with murder based on the “Watson advisement,” a formal statement signed by anyone convicted of a DUI charge who says they understand driving under the influence can injure or kill people. The statement can be used against them if they cause another fatal, DUI-related crash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been a prosecutor 25 years now and I can’t recall any other drug that has led to this much destruction and death,” Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Daima Calhoun said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors say the parents, like drunk drivers, knew fentanyl can injure or kill people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among those awaiting a trial that will test the approach are Tehra Alexandra Waite and Collin Pascal Kittrell, both of Riverside. The boyfriend and girlfriend were charged with murder after their toddler died of a fentanyl overdose in June 2020. They pleaded not guilty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Investigators said their 14-month-old daughter, Allison, likely touched her mouth or eyes after coming in contact with the drug, which was found on several things in their apartment, including the couch.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Daima Calhoun, deputy district attorney, Riverside County\"]‘I’ve been a prosecutor 25 years now and I can’t recall any other drug that has led to this much destruction and death.’[/pullquote]Detectives testified that when Waite found her daughter unresponsive she rushed to a pharmacy to buy naloxone, a drug used to reverse an opioid overdose. The couple did not call 911 until hours later when Allison started having trouble breathing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The girl’s paternal grandmother also said in court documents that Waite used drugs while she was pregnant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Associated Press sought comment from multiple attorneys who have represented Waite and none responded. Her father declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kittrell’s attorney, Graham Donath, said Allison’s father did not intend for his child to die and the charge should be one of child neglect, not murder. But prosecutors don’t like to go that route because the maximum sentence for the offense is 12 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sonoma County, where Charlotte slept with her mom in a messy apartment in Santa Rosa, first responders testified at a preliminary hearing that they found fentanyl in powder form on a nightstand next to the bed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ryan Hughes, a Santa Rosa Police Department narcotics detective, told the court they also found text messages showing the couple was concerned about losing their daughter because of their drug use, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/santa-rosa-police-describe-scene-where-toddlers-fentanyl-related-death-occ/\">the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A judge is expected to set a trial date at a Sept. 11 hearing for Charlotte’s mother, Bernard, who woke up to find her daughter struggling to breathe, and her father, Evan Frostick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys for Bernard and Frostick and Frostick’s parents all declined to comment when contacted by the AP. Bernard’s stepmother did not respond to phone messages seeking comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They need to be held accountable under the law because they allowed harm to come to their children and they let their drug use and addiction outweigh taking care of their children and keeping their children safe,” Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple has pleaded not guilty but are part of a growing number of parents across the U.S. being charged amid an escalating opioid crisis that has claimed an increasing number of children as collateral victims.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some 20 states have so-called “drug-induced homicide” laws, which allow prosecutors to press murder or manslaughter charges against anyone who supplies or exposes a person to drugs causing a fatal overdose. The laws are intended to target drug dealers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, where the Legislature has failed to pass such laws, prosecutors in at least three counties are turning to drunk driving laws to charge parents whose children die from fentanyl overdose. It’s a unique approach that will soon be tested in court as the cases head to trial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the ramped-up enforcement say that by now those who use the synthetic opioid know the lethality of the drug and, like drunk drivers, they should know the consequences of exposing their children to their actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics say the parents didn’t intend to kill their children but instead made poor choices because of their addictions and are being further punished instead of being offered help.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The debate comes as the country battles with how to effectively diminish the use of the highly accessible and extremely deadly drug.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Authorities believe some of the children died after touching something with the powdery substance and then touching their eyes or mouth. In one case, the drug may have been on the hands of a parent who prepared the baby’s bottle. The drug is not absorbed into the skin but experts say it can be lethal if as little as 2 milligrams, about the weight of a mosquito, enters the body.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are tragic cases because drug addiction has destroyed a precious life and the parents face the consequences of their reckless actions,” said Charlie Smith, the top prosecutor in Frederick County, Maryland, and president of the National District Attorneys Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Parents also can face charges if young children become seriously ill or die from crack, heroin and cocaine, but such cases are rare because a sizeable amount must be ingested, Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is really a first in the history of our country because we have a drug on the streets that can potentially kill you instantly with a minor amount of product,” Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors have a difficult decision to make when determining whether to charge parents, but Smith said the goal is to deter others from doing the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He prosecuted a case in which \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/maryland-22c0d98de68294f8aa98ec99bba727f2\">parents in Maryland were convicted of involuntary manslaughter\u003c/a> in the 2020 death of their 2-month-old son. The Mount Airy couple had mixed fentanyl in the same bathroom where they prepared bottles for their infant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jeremy Whitney Frazier and Heather Marie Frazier were each sentenced in December to five years in prison and five years of supervised probation.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The National District Attorneys Association doesn’t track how many parents have been charged for exposing their children to fentanyl, but news reports and interviews with prosecutors show such cases have been on the rise since the onset of the pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/toddler-fentanyl-overdose-mother-77675076ebb91cab37048656527dbddb\">a Maine woman pleaded guilty to manslaughter\u003c/a> after her 14-month-old son’s fentanyl overdose. Investigators found fentanyl on a blanket and sheet where Ashley Malloy’s son Karson had been sleeping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>States such as Maryland that don’t have “drug-induced homicide” laws often charge parents with manslaughter, Smith said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, prosecutors have turned to a drunk driving law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors in Riverside, Sonoma and Stanislaus counties have charged parents with murder based on the “Watson advisement,” a formal statement signed by anyone convicted of a DUI charge who says they understand driving under the influence can injure or kill people. The statement can be used against them if they cause another fatal, DUI-related crash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been a prosecutor 25 years now and I can’t recall any other drug that has led to this much destruction and death,” Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Daima Calhoun said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors say the parents, like drunk drivers, knew fentanyl can injure or kill people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among those awaiting a trial that will test the approach are Tehra Alexandra Waite and Collin Pascal Kittrell, both of Riverside. The boyfriend and girlfriend were charged with murder after their toddler died of a fentanyl overdose in June 2020. They pleaded not guilty.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Investigators said their 14-month-old daughter, Allison, likely touched her mouth or eyes after coming in contact with the drug, which was found on several things in their apartment, including the couch.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘I’ve been a prosecutor 25 years now and I can’t recall any other drug that has led to this much destruction and death.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Detectives testified that when Waite found her daughter unresponsive she rushed to a pharmacy to buy naloxone, a drug used to reverse an opioid overdose. The couple did not call 911 until hours later when Allison started having trouble breathing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The girl’s paternal grandmother also said in court documents that Waite used drugs while she was pregnant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Associated Press sought comment from multiple attorneys who have represented Waite and none responded. Her father declined to comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kittrell’s attorney, Graham Donath, said Allison’s father did not intend for his child to die and the charge should be one of child neglect, not murder. But prosecutors don’t like to go that route because the maximum sentence for the offense is 12 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sonoma County, where Charlotte slept with her mom in a messy apartment in Santa Rosa, first responders testified at a preliminary hearing that they found fentanyl in powder form on a nightstand next to the bed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ryan Hughes, a Santa Rosa Police Department narcotics detective, told the court they also found text messages showing the couple was concerned about losing their daughter because of their drug use, \u003ca href=\"https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/santa-rosa-police-describe-scene-where-toddlers-fentanyl-related-death-occ/\">the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A judge is expected to set a trial date at a Sept. 11 hearing for Charlotte’s mother, Bernard, who woke up to find her daughter struggling to breathe, and her father, Evan Frostick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Defense attorneys for Bernard and Frostick and Frostick’s parents all declined to comment when contacted by the AP. Bernard’s stepmother did not respond to phone messages seeking comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They need to be held accountable under the law because they allowed harm to come to their children and they let their drug use and addiction outweigh taking care of their children and keeping their children safe,” Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "In Act of Civil Disobedience, Activists Set Up Safe Drug Consumption Site in San Francisco",
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"content": "\u003cp>At least two lives were saved on Thursday at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11923303/sf-health-groups-determined-to-forge-ahead-with-safe-consumption-site-despite-newsoms-veto\">a supervised consumption site in San Francisco\u003c/a>, also known as an overdose prevention site, where residents can consume drugs in a safe environment and trained staff are able to prevent overdoses. With the city on track this year to record the highest number of overdose deaths yet, the site was organized by public health advocates as a way to put pressure on leaders to open such a facility permanently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a public response to the fact that there are nearly three people a day dying of overdose in San Francisco. While we continue to talk about how to best prevent loss of life, people continue to die,” said Lydia Bransten, who was volunteering at the event. “So today is a day of action, where we are saying ‘Look how easy this is.’ It’s a very simple response to a complicated issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11959779\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/230831-safe-use-pop-up-md-03-kqed/\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11959779\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A person with blue-rimmed glasses stands beside some tents outdoors.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-03-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-03-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-03-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lydia Bransten, a member of Concerned Public Response, volunteered at the safe consumption site. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The set-up was simple: Two E-Z UP tents were stationed in an alleyway between Polk and Van Ness on Willow Street, and underneath, people could smoke or inject their pre-obtained drugs in a safer and more private setting than on the sidewalk or elsewhere out in the public. Trained staff were present to supervise and provide water and snacks, or to administer Narcan and respirators in the event of an overdose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Organizers set up the site after long delays by city leaders in opening planned “wellness hubs” with these safe consumption services. The city has already allocated $18.9 million to open the wellness hubs, which would include a variety of health and hygiene services for people experiencing homelessness or substance use disorder. Private funding would then be used to support safe consumption services, which research shows help reduce overdose deaths and operate in nearly 200 places around the globe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters like Bransten said that the sites are meant to be one part of a broader coordinated response to overdoses and substance use disorder, alongside expanded treatment options, mental health care and housing opportunities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pop-up event, held on International Overdose Awareness Day (Aug. 31), comes as \u003ca href=\"https://sf.gov/resource/2020/ocme-accidental-overdose-reports\">San Francisco is currently on pace to have its highest year for overdose deaths\u003c/a>, exceeding the record set in 2020 when 725 people lost their lives to drug overdose. In the first half of this year, 473 people died from accidental drug overdose in San Francisco, according to the medical examiner’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The majority (80%) of those deaths involved fentanyl, an opioid 50 times stronger than heroin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the safe consumption site, volunteers spoke with people in the area about safer ways to consume drugs, treatment options, and handed out donuts and water to anyone who was simply hungry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11959780\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/230831-safe-use-pop-up-md-04-kqed/\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11959780\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A group of people congregate around a table in an outdoor setting.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-04-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-04-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-04-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Scarce (second from left) greets a community member visiting the safe drug consumption site created by volunteers with Concerned Public Response. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The site was not only a demonstration of civil disobedience — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1980034/california-allows-supervised-illicit-drug-use-to-prevent-overdoses\">Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill in 2022 that would have allowed San Francisco to pilot the sites\u003c/a> — but also a functional facility. At least two overdoses were reversed at the site on Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is exactly what we are here to do. If we can prevent even a fraction of the overdose deaths, that’s important,” said Eli Smith, an EMT who helped reverse an overdose at the site on Thursday. “It was really great to be able to help out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>J.M., who did not use a full name to protect his privacy, was staying in the alley where the demonstration took place, and noticed his friend stopped breathing after consuming fentanyl. So he hurried down to the other side of the alley, where the site was set up, and grabbed Narcan. Smith, the EMT, grabbed his medical kit and ran to follow J.M. to the friend, who was lying unresponsive on the sidewalk behind a concrete divider.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>J.M. administered two rounds of Narcan, a nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose, and Smith followed with a respirator pump to provide oxygen. Soon, J.M.’s friend was breathing and slowly back on his feet, and paramedics arrived on scene to follow up. The friend chose not to leave with the paramedics, and walked away on foot.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11959733,news_11923303,news_11943309\"]“You saved his life,” Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who was at the safe consumption site on Thursday supporting the volunteers, told J.M.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Volunteers at the demonstration also handed out clean needles, which can prevent transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C between drug users, as well as other supplies to cut down on the physical harms associated with drug use, like alcohol wipes, fentanyl test strips and clean smoking supplies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"mceTemp\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>Tom, Rich and Henry, who didn’t share their last names due to privacy concerns, heard about the site after organizers reached out to people living on the streets nearby. They walked over to pick up Narcan, wipes and clean needles, and they used the supervised consumption area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s pretty incredible how accessible this is,” said Tom. “We come across people that really do need this. We need way more [sites like this].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The three men have all lost friends to overdose. Narcan, they said, has been an incredible tool to keep each other alive, but said it can be scary to use without a medical professional present. The trained staff on site gave them more reassurance that they would be okay, Tom said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are going to use drugs no matter what, you know? Why not have a safe place where you can make sure people don’t die and there aren’t predators hanging around when you’re using,” Tom said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11959782\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11959782\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A sidewalk covered with people's names and drawing of hearts.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-06-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-06-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-06-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A memorial to deceased loved ones at the safe consumption site. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Safe consumption sites can also provide other essential services like showers and laundry, free meals, and sign-ups to housing or drug treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sky and Q, who declined to share their last names, are currently living on the street near where the site was set up. They picked up some donuts, water and a glass pipe from the booth, and even ran into some friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I try to use all the drop-in resources like this, this stuff is really helpful. I always keep Narcan on me in case someone needs one,” said Sky, 20. “I think people would see a lot less of what they don’t like seeing, like shoplifting and stuff, if we had more of this. It helps provide things people can’t get for themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 200 safe consumption sites operate globally, including in countries with multiple sites like France, Germany and Norway. Zero overdose deaths have been recorded in these facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But San Francisco and California government leaders have long delayed opening safe consumption sites, which are also known as overdose prevention centers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Tenderloin Center, in United Nations Plaza, offered safe consumption services while it was open for 11 months in 2022, before city officials closed it down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But local businesses complained that the facility drew crowds of people waiting for services just outside the Civic Center BART station, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11923129/sf-political-leaders-speak-at-rally-opposing-safe-injection-sites-even-as-many-privately-say-they-support-them\">other residents and political leaders criticized\u003c/a> the model for failing to connect many people to longer-term drug treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11915870/inside-san-franciscos-tenderloin-center-that-serves-hundreds-every-day\">Inside the Tenderloin Center\u003c/a>, however, hundreds of people arrived daily to get their basic needs met. In total, 333 overdoses were reversed by trained staff there and no one died on the premises, research on the facility shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smith, the EMT who helped reverse overdoses at the demonstration on Thursday, witnessed hundreds of overdoses reversed at the Tenderloin Center while he was working there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One woman at the pop-up site on Thursday said she would visit the Tenderloin Center “everyday” back when it was still open for a hot meal, showers and a safe place away from the sidewalk to smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11959777\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11959777\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Two tents set up on a sidewalk on a city block.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-01-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-01-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Concerned Public Response safe drug consumption site on Aug. 31, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mayor London Breed, whose sister died of a drug overdose, supports supervised consumption services. But opening one in San Francisco has been a slow battle. Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation that would have allowed the city to pilot the services. Meanwhile, Rhode Island and New York City have moved ahead with plans and programs despite legal uncertainties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The mayor continues to support safe consumption sites. These are complicated legal issues that we continue to navigate with our nonprofit partners,” a spokesperson from the mayor’s office said in an email to KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Newsom’s veto, San Francisco leaders funded so-called “wellness hubs” instead, to serve as low-barrier drop-in health facilities that could offer similar services as the Tenderloin Center, with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11943309/sf-supervisors-carve-path-for-privately-run-safe-consumption-sites-but-can-nonprofits-fund-them-alone&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1693523375935961&usg=AOvVaw3NGVB6_gFojpUoI4tJe-un\">a private nonprofit funding and running the safe consumption sites at these hubs\u003c/a>, similar to the model used in New York City.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Ronen stressed that opening up wellness hubs with safe consumption sites is a priority in her remaining time in office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Overdose prevention sites, they are not a nefarious, scary thing. Take a look at one in public. We are offering a space where we can watch people to make sure they don’t die. That’s it, it’s that simple,” said Ronen. “We want to provide love, tell people we care about them, and want to support them to eventually get into treatment and get well. But in the meantime, we need to keep them alive to get there.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At least two lives were saved on Thursday at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11923303/sf-health-groups-determined-to-forge-ahead-with-safe-consumption-site-despite-newsoms-veto\">a supervised consumption site in San Francisco\u003c/a>, also known as an overdose prevention site, where residents can consume drugs in a safe environment and trained staff are able to prevent overdoses. With the city on track this year to record the highest number of overdose deaths yet, the site was organized by public health advocates as a way to put pressure on leaders to open such a facility permanently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a public response to the fact that there are nearly three people a day dying of overdose in San Francisco. While we continue to talk about how to best prevent loss of life, people continue to die,” said Lydia Bransten, who was volunteering at the event. “So today is a day of action, where we are saying ‘Look how easy this is.’ It’s a very simple response to a complicated issue.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11959779\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/230831-safe-use-pop-up-md-03-kqed/\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11959779\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A person with blue-rimmed glasses stands beside some tents outdoors.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-03-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-03-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-03-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lydia Bransten, a member of Concerned Public Response, volunteered at the safe consumption site. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The set-up was simple: Two E-Z UP tents were stationed in an alleyway between Polk and Van Ness on Willow Street, and underneath, people could smoke or inject their pre-obtained drugs in a safer and more private setting than on the sidewalk or elsewhere out in the public. Trained staff were present to supervise and provide water and snacks, or to administer Narcan and respirators in the event of an overdose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Organizers set up the site after long delays by city leaders in opening planned “wellness hubs” with these safe consumption services. The city has already allocated $18.9 million to open the wellness hubs, which would include a variety of health and hygiene services for people experiencing homelessness or substance use disorder. Private funding would then be used to support safe consumption services, which research shows help reduce overdose deaths and operate in nearly 200 places around the globe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters like Bransten said that the sites are meant to be one part of a broader coordinated response to overdoses and substance use disorder, alongside expanded treatment options, mental health care and housing opportunities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pop-up event, held on International Overdose Awareness Day (Aug. 31), comes as \u003ca href=\"https://sf.gov/resource/2020/ocme-accidental-overdose-reports\">San Francisco is currently on pace to have its highest year for overdose deaths\u003c/a>, exceeding the record set in 2020 when 725 people lost their lives to drug overdose. In the first half of this year, 473 people died from accidental drug overdose in San Francisco, according to the medical examiner’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The majority (80%) of those deaths involved fentanyl, an opioid 50 times stronger than heroin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the safe consumption site, volunteers spoke with people in the area about safer ways to consume drugs, treatment options, and handed out donuts and water to anyone who was simply hungry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11959780\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/230831-safe-use-pop-up-md-04-kqed/\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11959780\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A group of people congregate around a table in an outdoor setting.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-04-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-04-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-04-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Scarce (second from left) greets a community member visiting the safe drug consumption site created by volunteers with Concerned Public Response. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The site was not only a demonstration of civil disobedience — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1980034/california-allows-supervised-illicit-drug-use-to-prevent-overdoses\">Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill in 2022 that would have allowed San Francisco to pilot the sites\u003c/a> — but also a functional facility. At least two overdoses were reversed at the site on Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is exactly what we are here to do. If we can prevent even a fraction of the overdose deaths, that’s important,” said Eli Smith, an EMT who helped reverse an overdose at the site on Thursday. “It was really great to be able to help out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>J.M., who did not use a full name to protect his privacy, was staying in the alley where the demonstration took place, and noticed his friend stopped breathing after consuming fentanyl. So he hurried down to the other side of the alley, where the site was set up, and grabbed Narcan. Smith, the EMT, grabbed his medical kit and ran to follow J.M. to the friend, who was lying unresponsive on the sidewalk behind a concrete divider.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>J.M. administered two rounds of Narcan, a nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose, and Smith followed with a respirator pump to provide oxygen. Soon, J.M.’s friend was breathing and slowly back on his feet, and paramedics arrived on scene to follow up. The friend chose not to leave with the paramedics, and walked away on foot.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“You saved his life,” Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who was at the safe consumption site on Thursday supporting the volunteers, told J.M.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Volunteers at the demonstration also handed out clean needles, which can prevent transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C between drug users, as well as other supplies to cut down on the physical harms associated with drug use, like alcohol wipes, fentanyl test strips and clean smoking supplies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"mceTemp\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>Tom, Rich and Henry, who didn’t share their last names due to privacy concerns, heard about the site after organizers reached out to people living on the streets nearby. They walked over to pick up Narcan, wipes and clean needles, and they used the supervised consumption area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s pretty incredible how accessible this is,” said Tom. “We come across people that really do need this. We need way more [sites like this].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The three men have all lost friends to overdose. Narcan, they said, has been an incredible tool to keep each other alive, but said it can be scary to use without a medical professional present. The trained staff on site gave them more reassurance that they would be okay, Tom said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are going to use drugs no matter what, you know? Why not have a safe place where you can make sure people don’t die and there aren’t predators hanging around when you’re using,” Tom said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11959782\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11959782\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-06-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A sidewalk covered with people's names and drawing of hearts.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-06-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-06-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-06-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-06-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-06-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-06-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A memorial to deceased loved ones at the safe consumption site. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Safe consumption sites can also provide other essential services like showers and laundry, free meals, and sign-ups to housing or drug treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sky and Q, who declined to share their last names, are currently living on the street near where the site was set up. They picked up some donuts, water and a glass pipe from the booth, and even ran into some friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I try to use all the drop-in resources like this, this stuff is really helpful. I always keep Narcan on me in case someone needs one,” said Sky, 20. “I think people would see a lot less of what they don’t like seeing, like shoplifting and stuff, if we had more of this. It helps provide things people can’t get for themselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 200 safe consumption sites operate globally, including in countries with multiple sites like France, Germany and Norway. Zero overdose deaths have been recorded in these facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But San Francisco and California government leaders have long delayed opening safe consumption sites, which are also known as overdose prevention centers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Tenderloin Center, in United Nations Plaza, offered safe consumption services while it was open for 11 months in 2022, before city officials closed it down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But local businesses complained that the facility drew crowds of people waiting for services just outside the Civic Center BART station, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11923129/sf-political-leaders-speak-at-rally-opposing-safe-injection-sites-even-as-many-privately-say-they-support-them\">other residents and political leaders criticized\u003c/a> the model for failing to connect many people to longer-term drug treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11915870/inside-san-franciscos-tenderloin-center-that-serves-hundreds-every-day\">Inside the Tenderloin Center\u003c/a>, however, hundreds of people arrived daily to get their basic needs met. In total, 333 overdoses were reversed by trained staff there and no one died on the premises, research on the facility shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Smith, the EMT who helped reverse overdoses at the demonstration on Thursday, witnessed hundreds of overdoses reversed at the Tenderloin Center while he was working there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One woman at the pop-up site on Thursday said she would visit the Tenderloin Center “everyday” back when it was still open for a hot meal, showers and a safe place away from the sidewalk to smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11959777\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11959777\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Two tents set up on a sidewalk on a city block.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-01-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230831-SAFE-USE-POP-UP-MD-01-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Concerned Public Response safe drug consumption site on Aug. 31, 2023. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mayor London Breed, whose sister died of a drug overdose, supports supervised consumption services. But opening one in San Francisco has been a slow battle. Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation that would have allowed the city to pilot the services. Meanwhile, Rhode Island and New York City have moved ahead with plans and programs despite legal uncertainties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The mayor continues to support safe consumption sites. These are complicated legal issues that we continue to navigate with our nonprofit partners,” a spokesperson from the mayor’s office said in an email to KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Newsom’s veto, San Francisco leaders funded so-called “wellness hubs” instead, to serve as low-barrier drop-in health facilities that could offer similar services as the Tenderloin Center, with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11943309/sf-supervisors-carve-path-for-privately-run-safe-consumption-sites-but-can-nonprofits-fund-them-alone&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1693523375935961&usg=AOvVaw3NGVB6_gFojpUoI4tJe-un\">a private nonprofit funding and running the safe consumption sites at these hubs\u003c/a>, similar to the model used in New York City.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supervisor Ronen stressed that opening up wellness hubs with safe consumption sites is a priority in her remaining time in office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Overdose prevention sites, they are not a nefarious, scary thing. Take a look at one in public. We are offering a space where we can watch people to make sure they don’t die. That’s it, it’s that simple,” said Ronen. “We want to provide love, tell people we care about them, and want to support them to eventually get into treatment and get well. But in the meantime, we need to keep them alive to get there.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "belmont-students-honor-classmates-life-after-fentanyl-overdose",
"title": "Belmont Students Honor Classmate’s Life After Fentanyl Overdose",
"publishDate": 1693216850,
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"headTitle": "Belmont Students Honor Classmate’s Life After Fentanyl Overdose | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"c-message_kit__blocks c-message_kit__blocks--rich_text\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"c-message__message_blocks c-message__message_blocks--rich_text\" data-qa=\"message-text\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"p-block_kit_renderer\" data-qa=\"block-kit-renderer\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper--first\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"p-rich_text_block\" dir=\"auto\">\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2021, students at Carlmont High School in Belmont were shocked when 17-year-old senior Colin Walker died of a fentanyl overdose. In this episode of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kalw.org/podcast/tbh-made-by-about-and-for-teenagers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TBH, \u003c/a>a podcast from KALW made by, for, and about teenagers, one of his classmates tells the story of how students honored Colin’s life after his death, and educated each other about the dangers of fentanyl.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Subscribe to TBH \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">at \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tbh/id1495120612\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/4TK5q90Jjh8ZzUeblTKo5W?si=8OJ-njINRQicTPoDD4eRgA\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Spotify\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/tbh-3\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stitcher\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, or \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://radiopublic.com/tbh-WR3rxO\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Radio Public\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp id=\"embed-code\" class=\"inconsolata\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC2510188224&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and welcome to The Bay. Local news to keep you rooted in 2021. Tragedy hit Carlmont High School in San Mateo County after a 17-year-old senior named Colin Walker died of a fentanyl overdose. It left students, the community and all those who knew him shocked. But deaths like these are not uncommon. In 2021, fentanyl was behind one in five deaths among young people, ages 15 to 24 in California. So how do students process tragedies like this at their schools? And how are young people looking for solutions to the crisis of drug overdoses? Those are questions The students behind the TBH podcast from CA LW tried to answer. TBH is made by about and for teenagers and anyone who wants to hear what’s on the minds of young people. So today we’re going to hear them out and we’ll bring you the story of how students sought to honor Colin’s life and spread awareness about fentanyl. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Miriam Reichenberg: \u003c/strong>This is TBH. I’m Miriam Reichenberg, and I’m a junior at Berkeley High School. This podcast is made by about and for teenagers and for anybody else who wants to hear what’s on our minds. Today’s episode is about how fentanyl overdoses are impacting teenagers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Unknown: \u003c/strong>It’s easy to distance ourselves from the issue, and it’s easy to believe, Oh, this could never happen to me or somebody in my family or my community, and that it does.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Miriam Reichenberg: \u003c/strong>California is seeing a rise in overdose deaths among young people, and that spike is driven by fentanyl, a drug 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Excerpt from “Fentanyl High”: \u003c/strong>I don’t want to have to tell any other parents that their child has died because of fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Miriam Reichenberg: \u003c/strong>That’s from a documentary called “Fentanyl High”, directed by Kyle Santoro, a senior at Los Gatos High School. He made the film because he wanted to explore how fentanyl kills and how teens are dealing with emotional pain of Fentanyl deaths. In 2020, two students at his high school fatally overdosed on fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Kyle Santoro: \u003c/strong>Our principal held a kid dying in his arms before paramedics able to revive him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Miriam Reichenberg: \u003c/strong>In today’s episode, we’ll hear about a school community and a family doing as much as they can to prevent overdose deaths. One of our producers at TBH. Clearly, Carolina Cuadros didn’t know much about fentanyl until a classmate fatally overdosed. She recently graduated from Karma High School in Belmont, a city in San Mateo County. Here’s Carolina’s story on spreading awareness in the aftermath of tragedy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>From my perspective, trends are the downfall of our modern society. They fade away just as fast as they emerge. I’ve seen it happen so many times at my school, Carlmont High School. This pattern can seem harmless when it comes to how we dress or what we eat. But simply moving on from one social or political cause to the next can have consequences. And so can failing to address tragedies in a meaningful way. I observed an outlier my junior year of high school when my classmates refused to move on. This was in 2021 after a high school senior named Colin Walker, lost his life after fatally overdosing on a drug laced with fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Liz Walker: \u003c/strong>But we don’t want it to be the only thing that we remember about Colin, you know…how he died.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>Elizabeth Walker is Colin’s mom…she goes by Liz, and says she and her family is still trying to put one foot in front of the other. Liz says Colin loved nature, going on adventures, and making everyone laugh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Liz Walker: \u003c/strong>Colin was just a go, go, go active, sporty, funny kid from the beginning. He was, I mean, he was huge. He was a good kid, seeming to go in the right direction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>But she said something inside him changed during his sophomore year of high school. Colin struggled with anxiety and depression, a battle that worsened during quarantine. To cope, Liz said, he brought drugs sold on Snapchat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Liz Walker: \u003c/strong>Colin wasn’t taking the drugs because he was just this happy kid who wanted to party. He was really struggling with being alone and COVID didn’t make it easy and feeling completely just desperate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>The last time he bought cocaine, it was laced with fentanyl. Liz says Snapchat has made it possible to order drugs as easily as ordering pizza. COVID, the opioid crisis, and easy access to drugs were all coming together at once…and her son was in the middle of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Liz Walker: \u003c/strong>Early on. I mean, like as if the day he died, I knew that we weren’t going to just tell people he died of a mysterious illness or passed away suddenly in his sleep. There was no doubt with me and my husband that, you know, we knew right away fentanyl was involved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>One in five deaths in California among young people…ages 15 to 24… were caused by fentanyl in 2021. That’s according to analysis of data from the San Jose Mercury News. Fentanyl overdose is not limited to those who knowingly consume the drug. College students taking cocaine to study late at night. Teenagers experimenting with weed for the first time with their friends. The reality is that overdose deaths are impacting everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Liz Walker: \u003c/strong>The kids that are dying right now. Are getting like the equivalent of two grains of salt. And they’re dying and that they’re not intentionally taking it. They’re buying something on Snapchat. It’s not what they thought. And it’s killing them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>Colin’s death was the first time most of the students at Carlmont high school lost a classmate. My friend, Chesney Evert, was part of the journalism program at the school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Chesney Evert: \u003c/strong>I remember sitting in class and our teachers put this like statement on the board about Colin, Colin’s passing and. Like there were just such a range of emotions from both me and all of my friends. Anger one that this had happened to a person so young and a person our age who is just about to graduate high school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>I was there too. I remember grieving his life with all my classmates, especially with my peers in the school’s journalism program. I also grieved the loss of innocence at our school. The mindset of “ we are untouchable!” disappeared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Chesney Evert: \u003c/strong>This issue was becoming so prevalent that even our bubble of the Bay Area couldn’t protect us. Grief and sadness on behalf of him and his family, who, you know, lost a really incredible person. And at the same time, I remember seeing the opportunity for this story to really change the way that we in our community thought about drug use and the dangers of drug use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>Every other month, tragic events occur around the world, and Scot Scoop Carlmont High School’s nationally recognized journalism publication covers them. California wildfires, the Ukraine crisis, the Turkey- Syria earthquakes. These have been the main topics of conversation for the student body – for about a week each time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Chesney Evert: \u003c/strong>The way our news cycle functions in the present day, we almost become immune to these tragedies that are so impactful and raw and real.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>After that, I’d see the topic disappear from the public’s attention. We would move on, forget, and stop actively caring. This was exactly what Scot Scoop set itself to break with Colin Walker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Chesney Evert: \u003c/strong>And I think I wanted to make sure that this issue was not met with that same immunity because it shouldn’t be the loss of a young person to something as prevalent and dangerous as fentanyl is something that should be highlighted and remembered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>And she would do just that. But it would take time. She and her classmates waited to report on this, until Colin’s family was ready.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Chesney Evert: \u003c/strong>So we at Carmont Journalism had a death policy in place. I believe that we’d never had to use it or we just wrote it following his passing. There was something along those lines, but we wanted to give the family and community enough time to grieve. Right. We weren’t. We don’t want to jump in on this coverage because obviously, it doesn’t serve anybody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>Eventually, Colin’s family did reach out at the beginning of 2022. They wanted the school publication to report on Colin’s story and the broader issue of fentanyl lacing. And so the team got to work on what became a massive multimedia project. Chesney led a group of six journalists who worked on multiple platforms…podcast production, video production, news features, and data visuals. Chesney worked closely with the family to make sure the story was delivered accurately, and that the family was comfortable with what they planned to publish. She says writing the story actually pushed her to almost rewrite her own code of journalism ethics. For example, she allowed Liz to read the story before publication.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Chesney Evert: \u003c/strong>So what I remember is Colin’s mom, Liz, made some she’s she’s very funny. She has a great sense of humor, and she made some quip about Panda Express or something, and we put it being Colin’s favorite food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>In one of the drafts, Liz left a note about wanting to leave out the details about Panda Express.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Chesney Evert: \u003c/strong>When you think of “professional journalism”, those aren’t always the moments that you see highlighted in stories. But we as a team decided that, no, that was the exact, the very human, very real and relatable evidence of a mother son relationship that we really wanted to keep in this piece.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>The package, titled “They Didn’t ask for Fentanyl” was published in March of 2022. The pieces educated the school community on fentanyl lacing described who Colin was and what led to his death. The stories also explained potential solutions…like the widespread use of naloxone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Anoushka Amekerira: \u003c/strong>Users often don’t know that drugs contain fentanyl. It’s not just the Walker family that was impacted by this devastation. The teen death epidemic from fentanyl poisoning is increasing each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>Anoushka Amekerira, my friend and co managing editor, worked on the audio aspect of the project. It featured an interview with the co-founder of songs for charlie, an organization Liz and her family worked with to raise awareness about fentanyl lacing. Anoushka says this all provided students with an education they weren’t finding anywhere else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Anoushka Amekerira: \u003c/strong>There were definitely, like students reaching out to me who I’d never talked to before, and they were like, Hey, I learned a lot from your audio package. Like, I think it was really beneficial that you put that out there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>The student population was eager to learn and hear from other students about an issue that hit so close to home. The students who worked on the journalism project — were invited to participate in a discussion about the fentanyl crisis – during a presentation in the school’s auditorium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Anoushka Amekerira: \u003c/strong>We got to hear more stories and like how our project kind of sparked more conversations in the community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>Colin’s mom, Liz Walker, has continued to work with the high school to spread awareness. She spoke to the freshman during an assembly this past year about fentanyl lacing. She’s planning to do the same this year to keep everyone informed, especially those who did not attend Carlmont during the time of Colin’s death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Liz Walker: \u003c/strong>if you’re personally going to school and someone dies in your high school from drunk driving or from a drug overdose or suicide, there is going to be more awareness. Is that, you know, is that going to prevent? All future deaths? No, but maybe some.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>Looking back, I didn’t even know what the word fentanyl meant before Colin’s death. Thanks to the journalism team and his family, my peers and I learned enough about fentanyl to teach others about it…continue educating ourselves…and hopefully, prevent more deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Miriam Reichenberg: \u003c/strong>Thanks, Carolina. That story came from Carolina Cuadros, a recent graduate of Carlmont High School, who’s now a freshman at UC Berkeley. The story Carolina brought us is sadly not one we haven’t heard before. When a tragic death like Colin’s happens, instead of focusing on the stigma of using drugs, we should focus on preventative measures, educating our communities and processing collective grief. Just as the Carlmont Journalism program did. At Berkeley High, there have been four student deaths in the time I’ve been a student there. This is not insignificant. Each death was very sad and hit the school community hard. I know that I appreciated how my school community came together to memorialize these kids. In one such instance, my sophomore history teacher took the class to meet and talk with the student’s parents. While not a drug-related death, meeting the student’s family members was a meaningful and personal part of the grieving process for many. Thanks for listening to these stories on TBH Podcast from KALW Public Radio. This podcast relies on you to help spread the word. So, please take a minute to give us a rating or take two and give us a review. Help us get our voices to others so they can hear what we have to say. Holly J. McDede, edited and taught along with Sarah Lai Stirland. Lauren Tran-Muchowski is our production assistant. Our artwork was created by [unknown]. [Unkown] Johnson and James Rowlands are our engineers. [unknown] is our supervising editor. Ben Trefny is our executive director. This project was made possible with support from the Association for Continuing Education, the California Arts Council and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Next time on tbe Age will take on anxiety and action in the face of the climate apocalypse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Unknown: \u003c/strong>So I think we should do our part in day to day and do whatever we can to help the environment so that we don’t die.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Miriam Reichenberg: \u003c/strong>Talk to you next time. I’m your host, Miriam Reichenberg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cdiv class=\"c-message_kit__blocks c-message_kit__blocks--rich_text\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"c-message__message_blocks c-message__message_blocks--rich_text\" data-qa=\"message-text\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"p-block_kit_renderer\" data-qa=\"block-kit-renderer\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper--first\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"p-rich_text_block\" dir=\"auto\">\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2021, students at Carlmont High School in Belmont were shocked when 17-year-old senior Colin Walker died of a fentanyl overdose. In this episode of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kalw.org/podcast/tbh-made-by-about-and-for-teenagers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TBH, \u003c/a>a podcast from KALW made by, for, and about teenagers, one of his classmates tells the story of how students honored Colin’s life after his death, and educated each other about the dangers of fentanyl.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Subscribe to TBH \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">at \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tbh/id1495120612\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/4TK5q90Jjh8ZzUeblTKo5W?si=8OJ-njINRQicTPoDD4eRgA\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Spotify\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/tbh-3\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stitcher\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, or \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://radiopublic.com/tbh-WR3rxO\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Radio Public\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp id=\"embed-code\" class=\"inconsolata\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC2510188224&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and welcome to The Bay. Local news to keep you rooted in 2021. Tragedy hit Carlmont High School in San Mateo County after a 17-year-old senior named Colin Walker died of a fentanyl overdose. It left students, the community and all those who knew him shocked. But deaths like these are not uncommon. In 2021, fentanyl was behind one in five deaths among young people, ages 15 to 24 in California. So how do students process tragedies like this at their schools? And how are young people looking for solutions to the crisis of drug overdoses? Those are questions The students behind the TBH podcast from CA LW tried to answer. TBH is made by about and for teenagers and anyone who wants to hear what’s on the minds of young people. So today we’re going to hear them out and we’ll bring you the story of how students sought to honor Colin’s life and spread awareness about fentanyl. Stay with us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Miriam Reichenberg: \u003c/strong>This is TBH. I’m Miriam Reichenberg, and I’m a junior at Berkeley High School. This podcast is made by about and for teenagers and for anybody else who wants to hear what’s on our minds. Today’s episode is about how fentanyl overdoses are impacting teenagers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Unknown: \u003c/strong>It’s easy to distance ourselves from the issue, and it’s easy to believe, Oh, this could never happen to me or somebody in my family or my community, and that it does.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Miriam Reichenberg: \u003c/strong>California is seeing a rise in overdose deaths among young people, and that spike is driven by fentanyl, a drug 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Excerpt from “Fentanyl High”: \u003c/strong>I don’t want to have to tell any other parents that their child has died because of fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Miriam Reichenberg: \u003c/strong>That’s from a documentary called “Fentanyl High”, directed by Kyle Santoro, a senior at Los Gatos High School. He made the film because he wanted to explore how fentanyl kills and how teens are dealing with emotional pain of Fentanyl deaths. In 2020, two students at his high school fatally overdosed on fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Kyle Santoro: \u003c/strong>Our principal held a kid dying in his arms before paramedics able to revive him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Miriam Reichenberg: \u003c/strong>In today’s episode, we’ll hear about a school community and a family doing as much as they can to prevent overdose deaths. One of our producers at TBH. Clearly, Carolina Cuadros didn’t know much about fentanyl until a classmate fatally overdosed. She recently graduated from Karma High School in Belmont, a city in San Mateo County. Here’s Carolina’s story on spreading awareness in the aftermath of tragedy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>From my perspective, trends are the downfall of our modern society. They fade away just as fast as they emerge. I’ve seen it happen so many times at my school, Carlmont High School. This pattern can seem harmless when it comes to how we dress or what we eat. But simply moving on from one social or political cause to the next can have consequences. And so can failing to address tragedies in a meaningful way. I observed an outlier my junior year of high school when my classmates refused to move on. This was in 2021 after a high school senior named Colin Walker, lost his life after fatally overdosing on a drug laced with fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Liz Walker: \u003c/strong>But we don’t want it to be the only thing that we remember about Colin, you know…how he died.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>Elizabeth Walker is Colin’s mom…she goes by Liz, and says she and her family is still trying to put one foot in front of the other. Liz says Colin loved nature, going on adventures, and making everyone laugh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Liz Walker: \u003c/strong>Colin was just a go, go, go active, sporty, funny kid from the beginning. He was, I mean, he was huge. He was a good kid, seeming to go in the right direction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>But she said something inside him changed during his sophomore year of high school. Colin struggled with anxiety and depression, a battle that worsened during quarantine. To cope, Liz said, he brought drugs sold on Snapchat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Liz Walker: \u003c/strong>Colin wasn’t taking the drugs because he was just this happy kid who wanted to party. He was really struggling with being alone and COVID didn’t make it easy and feeling completely just desperate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>The last time he bought cocaine, it was laced with fentanyl. Liz says Snapchat has made it possible to order drugs as easily as ordering pizza. COVID, the opioid crisis, and easy access to drugs were all coming together at once…and her son was in the middle of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Liz Walker: \u003c/strong>Early on. I mean, like as if the day he died, I knew that we weren’t going to just tell people he died of a mysterious illness or passed away suddenly in his sleep. There was no doubt with me and my husband that, you know, we knew right away fentanyl was involved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>One in five deaths in California among young people…ages 15 to 24… were caused by fentanyl in 2021. That’s according to analysis of data from the San Jose Mercury News. Fentanyl overdose is not limited to those who knowingly consume the drug. College students taking cocaine to study late at night. Teenagers experimenting with weed for the first time with their friends. The reality is that overdose deaths are impacting everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Liz Walker: \u003c/strong>The kids that are dying right now. Are getting like the equivalent of two grains of salt. And they’re dying and that they’re not intentionally taking it. They’re buying something on Snapchat. It’s not what they thought. And it’s killing them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>Colin’s death was the first time most of the students at Carlmont high school lost a classmate. My friend, Chesney Evert, was part of the journalism program at the school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Chesney Evert: \u003c/strong>I remember sitting in class and our teachers put this like statement on the board about Colin, Colin’s passing and. Like there were just such a range of emotions from both me and all of my friends. Anger one that this had happened to a person so young and a person our age who is just about to graduate high school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>I was there too. I remember grieving his life with all my classmates, especially with my peers in the school’s journalism program. I also grieved the loss of innocence at our school. The mindset of “ we are untouchable!” disappeared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Chesney Evert: \u003c/strong>This issue was becoming so prevalent that even our bubble of the Bay Area couldn’t protect us. Grief and sadness on behalf of him and his family, who, you know, lost a really incredible person. And at the same time, I remember seeing the opportunity for this story to really change the way that we in our community thought about drug use and the dangers of drug use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>Every other month, tragic events occur around the world, and Scot Scoop Carlmont High School’s nationally recognized journalism publication covers them. California wildfires, the Ukraine crisis, the Turkey- Syria earthquakes. These have been the main topics of conversation for the student body – for about a week each time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Chesney Evert: \u003c/strong>The way our news cycle functions in the present day, we almost become immune to these tragedies that are so impactful and raw and real.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>After that, I’d see the topic disappear from the public’s attention. We would move on, forget, and stop actively caring. This was exactly what Scot Scoop set itself to break with Colin Walker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Chesney Evert: \u003c/strong>And I think I wanted to make sure that this issue was not met with that same immunity because it shouldn’t be the loss of a young person to something as prevalent and dangerous as fentanyl is something that should be highlighted and remembered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>And she would do just that. But it would take time. She and her classmates waited to report on this, until Colin’s family was ready.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Chesney Evert: \u003c/strong>So we at Carmont Journalism had a death policy in place. I believe that we’d never had to use it or we just wrote it following his passing. There was something along those lines, but we wanted to give the family and community enough time to grieve. Right. We weren’t. We don’t want to jump in on this coverage because obviously, it doesn’t serve anybody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>Eventually, Colin’s family did reach out at the beginning of 2022. They wanted the school publication to report on Colin’s story and the broader issue of fentanyl lacing. And so the team got to work on what became a massive multimedia project. Chesney led a group of six journalists who worked on multiple platforms…podcast production, video production, news features, and data visuals. Chesney worked closely with the family to make sure the story was delivered accurately, and that the family was comfortable with what they planned to publish. She says writing the story actually pushed her to almost rewrite her own code of journalism ethics. For example, she allowed Liz to read the story before publication.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Chesney Evert: \u003c/strong>So what I remember is Colin’s mom, Liz, made some she’s she’s very funny. She has a great sense of humor, and she made some quip about Panda Express or something, and we put it being Colin’s favorite food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>In one of the drafts, Liz left a note about wanting to leave out the details about Panda Express.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Chesney Evert: \u003c/strong>When you think of “professional journalism”, those aren’t always the moments that you see highlighted in stories. But we as a team decided that, no, that was the exact, the very human, very real and relatable evidence of a mother son relationship that we really wanted to keep in this piece.\u003cem> \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>The package, titled “They Didn’t ask for Fentanyl” was published in March of 2022. The pieces educated the school community on fentanyl lacing described who Colin was and what led to his death. The stories also explained potential solutions…like the widespread use of naloxone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Anoushka Amekerira: \u003c/strong>Users often don’t know that drugs contain fentanyl. It’s not just the Walker family that was impacted by this devastation. The teen death epidemic from fentanyl poisoning is increasing each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>Anoushka Amekerira, my friend and co managing editor, worked on the audio aspect of the project. It featured an interview with the co-founder of songs for charlie, an organization Liz and her family worked with to raise awareness about fentanyl lacing. Anoushka says this all provided students with an education they weren’t finding anywhere else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Anoushka Amekerira: \u003c/strong>There were definitely, like students reaching out to me who I’d never talked to before, and they were like, Hey, I learned a lot from your audio package. Like, I think it was really beneficial that you put that out there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>The student population was eager to learn and hear from other students about an issue that hit so close to home. The students who worked on the journalism project — were invited to participate in a discussion about the fentanyl crisis – during a presentation in the school’s auditorium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Anoushka Amekerira: \u003c/strong>We got to hear more stories and like how our project kind of sparked more conversations in the community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>Colin’s mom, Liz Walker, has continued to work with the high school to spread awareness. She spoke to the freshman during an assembly this past year about fentanyl lacing. She’s planning to do the same this year to keep everyone informed, especially those who did not attend Carlmont during the time of Colin’s death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Liz Walker: \u003c/strong>if you’re personally going to school and someone dies in your high school from drunk driving or from a drug overdose or suicide, there is going to be more awareness. Is that, you know, is that going to prevent? All future deaths? No, but maybe some.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Carolina Cuadros: \u003c/strong>Looking back, I didn’t even know what the word fentanyl meant before Colin’s death. Thanks to the journalism team and his family, my peers and I learned enough about fentanyl to teach others about it…continue educating ourselves…and hopefully, prevent more deaths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Miriam Reichenberg: \u003c/strong>Thanks, Carolina. That story came from Carolina Cuadros, a recent graduate of Carlmont High School, who’s now a freshman at UC Berkeley. The story Carolina brought us is sadly not one we haven’t heard before. When a tragic death like Colin’s happens, instead of focusing on the stigma of using drugs, we should focus on preventative measures, educating our communities and processing collective grief. Just as the Carlmont Journalism program did. At Berkeley High, there have been four student deaths in the time I’ve been a student there. This is not insignificant. Each death was very sad and hit the school community hard. I know that I appreciated how my school community came together to memorialize these kids. In one such instance, my sophomore history teacher took the class to meet and talk with the student’s parents. While not a drug-related death, meeting the student’s family members was a meaningful and personal part of the grieving process for many. Thanks for listening to these stories on TBH Podcast from KALW Public Radio. This podcast relies on you to help spread the word. So, please take a minute to give us a rating or take two and give us a review. Help us get our voices to others so they can hear what we have to say. Holly J. McDede, edited and taught along with Sarah Lai Stirland. Lauren Tran-Muchowski is our production assistant. Our artwork was created by [unknown]. [Unkown] Johnson and James Rowlands are our engineers. [unknown] is our supervising editor. Ben Trefny is our executive director. This project was made possible with support from the Association for Continuing Education, the California Arts Council and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Next time on tbe Age will take on anxiety and action in the face of the climate apocalypse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Unknown: \u003c/strong>So I think we should do our part in day to day and do whatever we can to help the environment so that we don’t die.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Miriam Reichenberg: \u003c/strong>Talk to you next time. I’m your host, Miriam Reichenberg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>"
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"content": "\u003cp>As the overdose epidemic roils across California, Native American community leaders are calling on state agencies to do more to slow the effects of the devastating crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This effort seems to be grassroots for us, so to see representatives here, it means we are all trying to work together to come to some sort of solution for this problem,” John Christman, Chairman of the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, told members of the California State Assembly Select Committee on Fentanyl, Opioid Addiction and Overdose Prevention, at a hearing on Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christman shared how fentanyl-related deaths have devastated communities like his, which has 400 members and is located near the California-Mexico border.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Native American and Alaska Native residents in California had the highest rate of opioid-overdose death compared to any other racial group from 2017 to 2022, according to the most recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/sapb/Pages/Data.aspx\">data available from the California Department of Public Health\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Community members and health leaders have tried a multitude of strategies, from opening up a vending machine where locals can pick up the opioid overdose-reversal medicine Narcan, to increasing talking circles and new wellness clinics. But it hasn’t been enough for many resource-strapped families navigating the crisis at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One particular challenge that Christman and others have encountered is stigma around seeking and accepting treatment. How to reduce those barriers so people can enter and have success in treatment is a critical question as the Viejas community looks to open up a new state-of-the-art health and addiction treatment facility called \u003ca href=\"https://rp.health/\">Revive Pathway\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you go to the wellness center, everyone knows what you’re doing there. Some of these things are embarrassing. And inpatient treatment does not always work,” Christman told the legislative committee.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Asm. Jim Patterson (R-Fresno)\"]‘We are learning the depth and the scope of this tragedy and it is hitting so many of us and those we care about.’[/pullquote]Lawmakers from across the state who had come to hear their testimonies echoed the tribal leaders’ concerns and shared many of their frustrations with the status quo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are learning the depth and the scope of this tragedy and it is hitting so many of us and those we care about,” said Assemblymember Jim Patterson (R-Fresno). “This is an area that is dear to me because Fresno, California, by its centralized location and being triangulated by the most traveled interstate freeways in California, is a place for fentanyl distribution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez spoke about efforts by law enforcement to respond to overdose deaths in the same way that they would approach homicides. For example, she said, by seizing the cell phone of someone who died and looking for who their dealer was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many speakers underscored that getting buy-in and cooperation from law enforcement around effective solutions would be critical to making progress on slowing overdose deaths and drug dealing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christman, however, said that’s been a challenge for his community working with law enforcement agencies in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have been in discussions at length since I got back into office in 2019 with the sheriff’s department. That open dialogue didn’t exist in the beginning of my council tenure. And it has not [borne] any fruit yet, I have to be honest about that,” the chairman said. “But I’m hoping we can have this dialogue. I don’t know that we can eradicate this, but we need some sort of solution to make these numbers go down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chair of the committee Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) brought up expanding access to medication-assisted treatment, and other health or housing services to help stabilize individuals struggling with addiction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are forging a path together towards healing and recovery,” said Haney. “This is affecting every corner of our state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some speakers at the hearing questioned the effectiveness of supply-side interventions and asked tribal council leaders for ways that communities could reduce demand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christman shared that deep-seeded traumas from violence against his community remain and often fuel the disparate impact that Native American communities face when it comes to the current overdose epidemic.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11950467,news_11954871,news_11944267\"]He recalled painful memories of watching and protesting \u003ca href=\"https://voiceofsandiego.org/2020/08/17/border-report-kumeyaay-band-sues-to-stop-border-wall-construction/\">threats to the tribe’s historic burial grounds\u003c/a>. “What would that do to you? What would that do to anyone? It’s a vicious cycle. Poverty is part of that, and we lived it,” Christman said. “We were able to find a way to provide more for our people, but those scars from trauma still exist in our community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Greg Greenberg, chief medical officer at \u003ca href=\"https://www.ots.health/\">OneTogether Solutions\u003c/a>, which provides overdose prevention and addiction treatment for rural tribal communities, said that the biggest issue he encounters among patients is a lack of available treatment and prevention services that people can easily access.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest issue I see is barriers to treatment,” Greenberg said. “Our current paradigm, we have people with substance abuse making their own appointments, and it’s hard to make and keep an appointment when you have a fentanyl or methamphetamine addiction. And it’s hard to engage in treatment when you have untreated psychiatric services as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Geography and proximity to fully staffed and resourced health clinics is a major challenge for members of the Tule River Tribe, according to Shine Nieto, vice chairman. The community is based about 16 miles away from the nearest hospital. And while Tule River has its own wellness center with counselors and psychologists, the need is greater than what the clinic currently has resources for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, he and others have started up small groups and talking circles to try to bring healing around addiction, its causes, and the impacts that overdoses leave behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The talking circles are an important part of shifting narratives and understandings about each other and addiction. But tragedy still followed. Four of the group’s nearly 40 members died of opioid-related overdoses, Nieto said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t like politics, but when it comes to this we are all in the same boat,” said Nieto. “This drug is killing people and destroying our state. We’re all in this state together. If this wipes out any town, it will just keep moving and moving. This is why I’m here, I want to help fight this and slow it down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As the overdose epidemic roils across California, Native American community leaders are calling on state agencies to do more to slow the effects of the devastating crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This effort seems to be grassroots for us, so to see representatives here, it means we are all trying to work together to come to some sort of solution for this problem,” John Christman, Chairman of the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, told members of the California State Assembly Select Committee on Fentanyl, Opioid Addiction and Overdose Prevention, at a hearing on Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christman shared how fentanyl-related deaths have devastated communities like his, which has 400 members and is located near the California-Mexico border.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Lawmakers from across the state who had come to hear their testimonies echoed the tribal leaders’ concerns and shared many of their frustrations with the status quo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are learning the depth and the scope of this tragedy and it is hitting so many of us and those we care about,” said Assemblymember Jim Patterson (R-Fresno). “This is an area that is dear to me because Fresno, California, by its centralized location and being triangulated by the most traveled interstate freeways in California, is a place for fentanyl distribution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez spoke about efforts by law enforcement to respond to overdose deaths in the same way that they would approach homicides. For example, she said, by seizing the cell phone of someone who died and looking for who their dealer was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many speakers underscored that getting buy-in and cooperation from law enforcement around effective solutions would be critical to making progress on slowing overdose deaths and drug dealing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christman, however, said that’s been a challenge for his community working with law enforcement agencies in the past.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have been in discussions at length since I got back into office in 2019 with the sheriff’s department. That open dialogue didn’t exist in the beginning of my council tenure. And it has not [borne] any fruit yet, I have to be honest about that,” the chairman said. “But I’m hoping we can have this dialogue. I don’t know that we can eradicate this, but we need some sort of solution to make these numbers go down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chair of the committee Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) brought up expanding access to medication-assisted treatment, and other health or housing services to help stabilize individuals struggling with addiction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are forging a path together towards healing and recovery,” said Haney. “This is affecting every corner of our state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some speakers at the hearing questioned the effectiveness of supply-side interventions and asked tribal council leaders for ways that communities could reduce demand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christman shared that deep-seeded traumas from violence against his community remain and often fuel the disparate impact that Native American communities face when it comes to the current overdose epidemic.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>He recalled painful memories of watching and protesting \u003ca href=\"https://voiceofsandiego.org/2020/08/17/border-report-kumeyaay-band-sues-to-stop-border-wall-construction/\">threats to the tribe’s historic burial grounds\u003c/a>. “What would that do to you? What would that do to anyone? It’s a vicious cycle. Poverty is part of that, and we lived it,” Christman said. “We were able to find a way to provide more for our people, but those scars from trauma still exist in our community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Greg Greenberg, chief medical officer at \u003ca href=\"https://www.ots.health/\">OneTogether Solutions\u003c/a>, which provides overdose prevention and addiction treatment for rural tribal communities, said that the biggest issue he encounters among patients is a lack of available treatment and prevention services that people can easily access.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The biggest issue I see is barriers to treatment,” Greenberg said. “Our current paradigm, we have people with substance abuse making their own appointments, and it’s hard to make and keep an appointment when you have a fentanyl or methamphetamine addiction. And it’s hard to engage in treatment when you have untreated psychiatric services as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Geography and proximity to fully staffed and resourced health clinics is a major challenge for members of the Tule River Tribe, according to Shine Nieto, vice chairman. The community is based about 16 miles away from the nearest hospital. And while Tule River has its own wellness center with counselors and psychologists, the need is greater than what the clinic currently has resources for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, he and others have started up small groups and talking circles to try to bring healing around addiction, its causes, and the impacts that overdoses leave behind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The talking circles are an important part of shifting narratives and understandings about each other and addiction. But tragedy still followed. Four of the group’s nearly 40 members died of opioid-related overdoses, Nieto said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t like politics, but when it comes to this we are all in the same boat,” said Nieto. “This drug is killing people and destroying our state. We’re all in this state together. If this wipes out any town, it will just keep moving and moving. This is why I’m here, I want to help fight this and slow it down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Fentanyl and other \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11948062/newsom-taps-chp-national-guard-to-fight-san-franciscos-fentanyl-crisis\">opioids dominate discussions\u003c/a> about the overdose crisis on the West Coast. But stimulants, like methamphetamine and cocaine, are often involved in fatal drug overdoses, too, especially when they are mixed with opioids like fentanyl, intentionally or not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why San Francisco city leaders are looking to increase access to treatment for stimulant use with the help of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949888/walgreens-pay-san-francisco-230-million-opioid-crisis\">millions of dollars\u003c/a> the city is receiving through settlements with opioid manufacturers and pharmacies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11945418,science_1982214,news_11944267\"]Wayne Rafus is a manager at a program at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) that helps people change their meth or cocaine use, called PROP 4 All. He said that about 40% of the time, fentanyl is showing up in voluntary drug tests — even though the participants haven’t intended to use that drug. This unintended use of opioids is contributing to the crisis of fatal overdoses. “Fentanyl is showing up in stimulant use, particularly meth and cocaine, which is very sad because sometimes folks are not intentionally wanting to use an opioid,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco is slated to receive about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949888/walgreens-pay-san-francisco-230-million-opioid-crisis\">$352 million over the next 15 years\u003c/a> through settlements with a number of companies, including Walgreens, CVS, Teva, Allergan and others for their role in the opioid epidemic. The funding is earmarked to address problems that have come out of the opioid crisis, from increased overdoses to dangerous street-level activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of that, Mayor London Breed is proposing to use $56.2 million of the settlement in the 2023–24 fiscal year budget and $46.5 million in the 2024–25 budget. Of that, \u003ca href=\"https://sf.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/FY%2023-25%20HC%20Memo%20Fourth%20Meeting%20-%206-2-23%20.pdf\">$2 million (PDF)\u003c/a> would be allocated each year for contingency management programs to address stimulant use. These programs use an incentive and positive-reinforcement-based approach to curbing addictions, primarily for stimulants like meth or cocaine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Wayne Rafus, manager of contingency management at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation\"]‘Fentanyl is showing up in stimulant use, particularly meth and cocaine, which is very sad because sometimes folks are not intentionally wanting to use an opioid.’[/pullquote]San Francisco is simultaneously using settlement funding to increase access to opioid treatments, such as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11945418/san-francisco-has-doubled-participants-of-this-opioid-treatment-heres-why\">buprenorphine, suboxone\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11941618/sfs-mobile-clinics-made-opioid-treatment-more-accessible-during-the-pandemic-but-will-they-stay\">methadone\u003c/a> medications, as well as abstinence-based programs and residential facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But unlike opioids, there are no federally approved medications to treat stimulant use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, contingency management has been employed by \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6768930/\">Veterans Affairs\u003c/a> for many years as one option that’s shown success; the agency was the first to complete a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3986725/\">large-scale implementation\u003c/a> of the approach. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376871618300784\">2018 study\u003c/a> found that, on average, VA patients attended more than half of their counseling sessions, and 91% of participants tested negative for the targeted substance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33507776/\">study in 2021\u003c/a> meanwhile found that contingency management showed “long-term benefit in reducing objective indices of drug use, above and beyond other active, evidence-based treatments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954572\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/20230623-sfaidsfoundation-023-bl/\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11954572\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-023-BL.jpg\" alt=\"A hand holds a brightly colored flyer that reads 'PROP'\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-023-BL.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-023-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-023-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-023-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-023-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rick Andrews holds a flyer with information about PROP, or the Positive Reinforcement Opportunity Project. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rick Andrews, director of contingency management at SFAF, said that some participants are also enrolled in Alcoholics Anonymous, Crystal Meth Anonymous, other 12-step recovery programs or additional counseling while they are at PROP. Graduates often transfer to longer-term treatment after they complete the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have folks in CMA, AA and other programs working in conjunction with us as well,” said Andrews. “And folks who are not ready for abstinence, what’s great for them is that they can come here, feel like they are trying to do something, and be around people. They get something to eat, counseling and community, even if they aren’t ready now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Rick Andrews, director of contingency management, San Francisco AIDS Foundation\"]‘[F]olks who are not ready for abstinence, what’s great for them is that they can come here, feel like they are trying to do something, and be around people. They get something to eat, counseling and community, even if they aren’t ready now.’[/pullquote]Addiction experts say that tackling meth and cocaine addiction is crucial as the city works to address its overdose crisis, because those substances also appear in a large portion of fatal accidental overdoses, according to data from the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Meth is a big, big problem that gets overshadowed by opioids, but a significant percentage of people who are using drugs in our streets are using meth, either alone or in combination with other drugs,” said Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who has advocated for expanding approaches to treat meth addiction. “Contingency management is an incredibly important and impactful approach or treatment for meth addiction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How contingency management can lead to big changes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At PROP 4 All and PROP, a similar program at SFAF that focuses on the gay male community, participants attend weekly group sessions in a calmingly dim conference room off Market Street. They discuss their use patterns, challenges and goals for how they want to adjust their use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also are given the option to take a drug test, and if it comes back negative, they can earn a cash incentive in the form of gift cards. After the 12-week program, participants often transition to longer-term counseling and care, depending on their specific goals and needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Participants can earn up to $330 in gift cards, if they test negative throughout the entire 12-week program. The cash may start as a draw, but leaders and participants said that what keeps people coming is having a new community, finding stability and getting connected to other services, like housing or longer-term treatment programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tyrone Clifford was a participant at PROP before becoming a manager of contingency management at the program. On his 21st birthday, just before moving to San Francisco, he found out he was HIV-positive and was told he had maybe two years to live. Clifford then began partying and using more drugs in an effort to cope with the diagnosis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after he far outlived the prognosis, his doctor encouraged him to reevaluate his relationship to meth. Clifford had been thinking about changing his drug use, so the encouragement spurred him to give contingency management a try.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954578\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/20230623-sfaidsfoundation-003-bl/\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11954578 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-003-BL.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged Black man in jeans and a flannel shirt sits on a chair in an empty conference room with stacked chairs behind him. He appears to have stud earrings in both ears, and has a bald head and a mostly white goatee and mustache.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-003-BL.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-003-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-003-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-003-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-003-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tyrone Clifford, manager of contingency management at PROP, sits in the San Francisco AIDS Foundation offices in San Francisco on June 23, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The weekly visits and community he built helped Clifford keep his promises to himself, he said, and gave him a chance to stabilize from the everyday chaos that heavy meth use can bring. The substance can keep users up for days, straining sleep and eating schedules, and lead to other physical and emotional harm in the long run.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Being in the group, it helped me to stay balanced, you know, helping to appreciate the lives of others and to understand that we’re all doing the same thing. But we all have different reasons for why we do it. We’re all looking to do it to help us get through different things,” said Clifford.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The need for more treatment programs\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In coordination with UCSF and nonprofits, the San Francisco Department of Public Health provides contingency management at the \u003ca href=\"https://citywide.ucsf.edu/stimulant-treatment-outpatient-program-stop\">Citywide Clinic’s Stimulant Treatment Outpatient Program\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://psych.ucsf.edu/news/office-based-buprenorphine-induction-clinics-work-highlighted-national-magazine\">Office-Based Buprenorphine Induction Clinic\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://sf.gov/reports/october-2022/overdose-prevention-plan-2022\">Project HOUDINI LINK\u003c/a> (Hospital Opioid Use Disorder treatment INItiation and LINKage to care).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To date, the expansion of San Francisco’s contingency management programs has come from Prop. C, which passed in 2018 to provide funds to address homelessness. But the Department of Public Health’s \u003ca href=\"https://sf.gov/reports/october-2022/overdose-prevention-plan-2022\">overdose prevention plan\u003c/a> suggests that these programs won’t be sufficiently utilized without sustained longer-term funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, San Francisco is looking to add at least one additional contingency management program and increase the number of overall participants by 25% in the next four years, according to the overdose prevention plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those efforts are paralleled by a statewide initiative. In 2021, California became the first state to cover contingency management through Medi-Cal, potentially opening doors for people who may have struggled to afford residential treatment or other treatment options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state also allocated $58.5 million to pilot contingency management programs in \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/Pages/DMC-ODS-Contingency-Management.aspx\">nearly two dozen other California counties\u003c/a>. Each patient receives a maximum of $599 over six months, after which they are referred for follow-up recovery programs and services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, it can be hard to find or even know about contingency management program options. Many people at PROP, for example, arrive through word of mouth, court-ordered treatment or referrals from doctors, like Clifford did. But advocates say it’s an under-utilized approach that more people could benefit from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s particularly concerning for experts looking at the overlap between homelessness and substance-use disorder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco)\"]‘The state has been really slow in rolling out these pilot programs … but we need to do whatever we can to help people suffering from meth addiction.’[/pullquote]\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11953216/lack-of-affordable-housing-is-driving-older-californians-into-homelessness\">Meth is almost three times more commonly used than nonprescribed opioids among people experiencing homelessness in California\u003c/a>, a recent UCSF study found. Of a representative sample of unhoused adults in the state, 31% reported regular use of methamphetamines, 11% used nonprescribed opioids such as fentanyl, and 3% reported cocaine, the study found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Methamphetamine kept them awake and alert, but it obviously comes at a big cost,” said Dr. Margot Kushel, lead author of the study, which also found that about 20% of participants wanted and were ready to enter drug treatment but could not access it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener stressed that the efforts to expand contingency management need to accelerate to meet the current and urgent need. PROP, as just one example, has 12 people on its waitlist right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, he authored \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11854373/state-lawmakers-move-to-expand-effective-but-controversial-treatment-for-meth-addiction\">a bill that aimed to expand contingency management\u003c/a>, SB 110, but Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it to instead launch the current statewide pilot program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The state has been really slow in rolling out these pilot programs,” Wiener said, “but we need to do whatever we can to help people suffering from meth addiction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story has been updated.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Wayne Rafus is a manager at a program at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) that helps people change their meth or cocaine use, called PROP 4 All. He said that about 40% of the time, fentanyl is showing up in voluntary drug tests — even though the participants haven’t intended to use that drug. This unintended use of opioids is contributing to the crisis of fatal overdoses. “Fentanyl is showing up in stimulant use, particularly meth and cocaine, which is very sad because sometimes folks are not intentionally wanting to use an opioid,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco is slated to receive about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949888/walgreens-pay-san-francisco-230-million-opioid-crisis\">$352 million over the next 15 years\u003c/a> through settlements with a number of companies, including Walgreens, CVS, Teva, Allergan and others for their role in the opioid epidemic. The funding is earmarked to address problems that have come out of the opioid crisis, from increased overdoses to dangerous street-level activity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As part of that, Mayor London Breed is proposing to use $56.2 million of the settlement in the 2023–24 fiscal year budget and $46.5 million in the 2024–25 budget. Of that, \u003ca href=\"https://sf.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/FY%2023-25%20HC%20Memo%20Fourth%20Meeting%20-%206-2-23%20.pdf\">$2 million (PDF)\u003c/a> would be allocated each year for contingency management programs to address stimulant use. These programs use an incentive and positive-reinforcement-based approach to curbing addictions, primarily for stimulants like meth or cocaine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>San Francisco is simultaneously using settlement funding to increase access to opioid treatments, such as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11945418/san-francisco-has-doubled-participants-of-this-opioid-treatment-heres-why\">buprenorphine, suboxone\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11941618/sfs-mobile-clinics-made-opioid-treatment-more-accessible-during-the-pandemic-but-will-they-stay\">methadone\u003c/a> medications, as well as abstinence-based programs and residential facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But unlike opioids, there are no federally approved medications to treat stimulant use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, contingency management has been employed by \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6768930/\">Veterans Affairs\u003c/a> for many years as one option that’s shown success; the agency was the first to complete a \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3986725/\">large-scale implementation\u003c/a> of the approach. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376871618300784\">2018 study\u003c/a> found that, on average, VA patients attended more than half of their counseling sessions, and 91% of participants tested negative for the targeted substance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33507776/\">study in 2021\u003c/a> meanwhile found that contingency management showed “long-term benefit in reducing objective indices of drug use, above and beyond other active, evidence-based treatments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954572\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/20230623-sfaidsfoundation-023-bl/\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11954572\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-023-BL.jpg\" alt=\"A hand holds a brightly colored flyer that reads 'PROP'\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-023-BL.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-023-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-023-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-023-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-023-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rick Andrews holds a flyer with information about PROP, or the Positive Reinforcement Opportunity Project. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rick Andrews, director of contingency management at SFAF, said that some participants are also enrolled in Alcoholics Anonymous, Crystal Meth Anonymous, other 12-step recovery programs or additional counseling while they are at PROP. Graduates often transfer to longer-term treatment after they complete the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have folks in CMA, AA and other programs working in conjunction with us as well,” said Andrews. “And folks who are not ready for abstinence, what’s great for them is that they can come here, feel like they are trying to do something, and be around people. They get something to eat, counseling and community, even if they aren’t ready now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘[F]olks who are not ready for abstinence, what’s great for them is that they can come here, feel like they are trying to do something, and be around people. They get something to eat, counseling and community, even if they aren’t ready now.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Addiction experts say that tackling meth and cocaine addiction is crucial as the city works to address its overdose crisis, because those substances also appear in a large portion of fatal accidental overdoses, according to data from the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Meth is a big, big problem that gets overshadowed by opioids, but a significant percentage of people who are using drugs in our streets are using meth, either alone or in combination with other drugs,” said Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who has advocated for expanding approaches to treat meth addiction. “Contingency management is an incredibly important and impactful approach or treatment for meth addiction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How contingency management can lead to big changes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At PROP 4 All and PROP, a similar program at SFAF that focuses on the gay male community, participants attend weekly group sessions in a calmingly dim conference room off Market Street. They discuss their use patterns, challenges and goals for how they want to adjust their use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also are given the option to take a drug test, and if it comes back negative, they can earn a cash incentive in the form of gift cards. After the 12-week program, participants often transition to longer-term counseling and care, depending on their specific goals and needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Participants can earn up to $330 in gift cards, if they test negative throughout the entire 12-week program. The cash may start as a draw, but leaders and participants said that what keeps people coming is having a new community, finding stability and getting connected to other services, like housing or longer-term treatment programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tyrone Clifford was a participant at PROP before becoming a manager of contingency management at the program. On his 21st birthday, just before moving to San Francisco, he found out he was HIV-positive and was told he had maybe two years to live. Clifford then began partying and using more drugs in an effort to cope with the diagnosis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after he far outlived the prognosis, his doctor encouraged him to reevaluate his relationship to meth. Clifford had been thinking about changing his drug use, so the encouragement spurred him to give contingency management a try.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954578\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/20230623-sfaidsfoundation-003-bl/\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11954578 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-003-BL.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged Black man in jeans and a flannel shirt sits on a chair in an empty conference room with stacked chairs behind him. He appears to have stud earrings in both ears, and has a bald head and a mostly white goatee and mustache.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-003-BL.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-003-BL-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-003-BL-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-003-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/20230623-SFAIDSFoundation-003-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tyrone Clifford, manager of contingency management at PROP, sits in the San Francisco AIDS Foundation offices in San Francisco on June 23, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The weekly visits and community he built helped Clifford keep his promises to himself, he said, and gave him a chance to stabilize from the everyday chaos that heavy meth use can bring. The substance can keep users up for days, straining sleep and eating schedules, and lead to other physical and emotional harm in the long run.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Being in the group, it helped me to stay balanced, you know, helping to appreciate the lives of others and to understand that we’re all doing the same thing. But we all have different reasons for why we do it. We’re all looking to do it to help us get through different things,” said Clifford.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The need for more treatment programs\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In coordination with UCSF and nonprofits, the San Francisco Department of Public Health provides contingency management at the \u003ca href=\"https://citywide.ucsf.edu/stimulant-treatment-outpatient-program-stop\">Citywide Clinic’s Stimulant Treatment Outpatient Program\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://psych.ucsf.edu/news/office-based-buprenorphine-induction-clinics-work-highlighted-national-magazine\">Office-Based Buprenorphine Induction Clinic\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://sf.gov/reports/october-2022/overdose-prevention-plan-2022\">Project HOUDINI LINK\u003c/a> (Hospital Opioid Use Disorder treatment INItiation and LINKage to care).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To date, the expansion of San Francisco’s contingency management programs has come from Prop. C, which passed in 2018 to provide funds to address homelessness. But the Department of Public Health’s \u003ca href=\"https://sf.gov/reports/october-2022/overdose-prevention-plan-2022\">overdose prevention plan\u003c/a> suggests that these programs won’t be sufficiently utilized without sustained longer-term funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, San Francisco is looking to add at least one additional contingency management program and increase the number of overall participants by 25% in the next four years, according to the overdose prevention plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those efforts are paralleled by a statewide initiative. In 2021, California became the first state to cover contingency management through Medi-Cal, potentially opening doors for people who may have struggled to afford residential treatment or other treatment options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state also allocated $58.5 million to pilot contingency management programs in \u003ca href=\"https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/Pages/DMC-ODS-Contingency-Management.aspx\">nearly two dozen other California counties\u003c/a>. Each patient receives a maximum of $599 over six months, after which they are referred for follow-up recovery programs and services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, it can be hard to find or even know about contingency management program options. Many people at PROP, for example, arrive through word of mouth, court-ordered treatment or referrals from doctors, like Clifford did. But advocates say it’s an under-utilized approach that more people could benefit from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s particularly concerning for experts looking at the overlap between homelessness and substance-use disorder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘The state has been really slow in rolling out these pilot programs … but we need to do whatever we can to help people suffering from meth addiction.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11953216/lack-of-affordable-housing-is-driving-older-californians-into-homelessness\">Meth is almost three times more commonly used than nonprescribed opioids among people experiencing homelessness in California\u003c/a>, a recent UCSF study found. Of a representative sample of unhoused adults in the state, 31% reported regular use of methamphetamines, 11% used nonprescribed opioids such as fentanyl, and 3% reported cocaine, the study found.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Methamphetamine kept them awake and alert, but it obviously comes at a big cost,” said Dr. Margot Kushel, lead author of the study, which also found that about 20% of participants wanted and were ready to enter drug treatment but could not access it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener stressed that the efforts to expand contingency management need to accelerate to meet the current and urgent need. PROP, as just one example, has 12 people on its waitlist right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, he authored \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11854373/state-lawmakers-move-to-expand-effective-but-controversial-treatment-for-meth-addiction\">a bill that aimed to expand contingency management\u003c/a>, SB 110, but Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it to instead launch the current statewide pilot program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The state has been really slow in rolling out these pilot programs,” Wiener said, “but we need to do whatever we can to help people suffering from meth addiction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story has been updated.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "As California Shutters Juvenile Lockups, Probation Chiefs Urge Investigation Into 'Appalling' Conditions",
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"content": "\u003cp>California probation chiefs are calling for the state to launch an investigation into what’s been happening at the Department of Juvenile Justice in its waning months, saying youths who recently served time in the state lockups have returned home addicted to fentanyl, covered in tattoos and suffering from untreated medical conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of July 1, DJJ no longer exists — young people accused of crimes will now serve their sentences in county juvenile halls and at local programs. The change, which officials have been preparing for the past several years, comes after a sharp drop in the number of young people committing crimes in California and reforms to how youth offenders are sentenced. It follows years of allegations of violence and abuse at DJJ.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent years, state officials have insisted that many of those problems at DJJ were resolved, even as Gov. Gavin Newsom pushed for a shuttering of the state agency. But probation chiefs in both Sacramento and Shasta counties told KQED this week that they and other probation chiefs around the state are appalled at what they’re hearing about how youth and correctional officers were allowed to behave at DJJ facilities.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11942669,news_11924009\"]Probation departments oversee juvenile justice at the local level in all of California’s 58 counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shasta County Probation Chief Tracie Neal said young people returning to her county reported that they have not been receiving rehabilitative programming in recent months, spent “excessive” time locked up in their rooms, and were aided in illegal behavior by the DJJ staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had our youth share that correctional staff were providing the youth with contraband, whether it was with tattoo equipment items or drugs or alcohol,” she said. “One youth in particular — he left us with no tattoos and he came back and he has tattoos all over his face, his neck, his arms. And he has shared with us that he was able to build tattoo guns within DJJ. He was even allowed different contraband from the correctional officers to assure that he had the access to what he needed to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sacramento Probation Chief Marlon Yarber said one young person who never struggled with drug use before going to DJJ returned to local custody addicted to fentanyl. He said DJJ staff called his staff to alert them to the problem and let them know that the youth had overdosed twice while at DJJ and had to be revived using Narcan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We took a call from staff at DJJ and, (they said) you know, some of the kids have had access to fentanyl and have been using drugs while in custody. And we’re like, oh, my goodness,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both chiefs said they also see severe behavioral problems among the young people returning from DJJ — racial divisions, gang affiliations that didn’t exist before and other antisocial behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A few of the youth have shared with us that in general there was just a lack of oversight and supervision of them. They shared details with us about correctional staff allowing them opportunities to engage in fighting and violence,” Neal said. “That behavior would escalate … and nothing was done to stop that. One of our youth said that the staff would say, ‘Just don’t kill anyone and don’t get caught.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yarber said one group of six young people had to be transported back to Sacramento County in two separate vans, because of conflict between the groups. And, he said, the problems are already spilling into the county juvenile justice system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The other real big indicator was, I think for the first time ever, arresting a parent at visiting,” he said. “Someone coming through our visitor center who had in their possession just hundreds of pills … thinking they would have a chance to sort of sit at the table together and might pass on those drugs to the youth.”[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Tracie Neal, probation chief, Shasta County\"]‘We had our youth share that correctional staff were providing the youth with contraband, whether it was with tattoo equipment items or drugs or alcohol.’[/pullquote]Those pills, he said, were seized by probation staff, and included more than 90 laced with fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chiefs want to see a state investigation into what’s happened at DJJ in recent months, and possibly criminal investigations by prosecutors. Neal said she’s filed one child abuse report, noting one young person returned to local custody with an untreated ankle injury.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been having local discussions because some of the things that have been shared with us, you know, fall under criminal behavior,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a written statement, a spokeswoman for the department that oversees DJJ said that the state takes allegations of staff misconduct seriously but will need “more and detailed information to formally open an investigation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The health and safety of youth in our care is our top priority,” said Terri Hardy, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, adding that after hearing concerns about opioid use, DJJ “immediately implemented a wave of testing for every remaining youth and testing prior to transport to counties.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said that out of more than 100 youth tested, “there was only one ‘refusal to test’ and one medically-related false positive. All other youth tested negative.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Yarber and Neal said they are personally appalled and upset by what they’re seeing — and wondering how it’s going to affect the rest of their juvenile system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know, we send these youth to DJJ to be held accountable, but also to receive the skills and treatment they need to successfully reintegrate,” said Neal. “And then to know that those kinds of conversations and sessions weren’t happening with the kids and instead they were allowed to do this is just it’s — it’s just hard. It’s crazy … I’ll speak personally, it’s … it’s been heartbreaking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Probation departments oversee juvenile justice at the local level in all of California’s 58 counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shasta County Probation Chief Tracie Neal said young people returning to her county reported that they have not been receiving rehabilitative programming in recent months, spent “excessive” time locked up in their rooms, and were aided in illegal behavior by the DJJ staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had our youth share that correctional staff were providing the youth with contraband, whether it was with tattoo equipment items or drugs or alcohol,” she said. “One youth in particular — he left us with no tattoos and he came back and he has tattoos all over his face, his neck, his arms. And he has shared with us that he was able to build tattoo guns within DJJ. He was even allowed different contraband from the correctional officers to assure that he had the access to what he needed to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sacramento Probation Chief Marlon Yarber said one young person who never struggled with drug use before going to DJJ returned to local custody addicted to fentanyl. He said DJJ staff called his staff to alert them to the problem and let them know that the youth had overdosed twice while at DJJ and had to be revived using Narcan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We took a call from staff at DJJ and, (they said) you know, some of the kids have had access to fentanyl and have been using drugs while in custody. And we’re like, oh, my goodness,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both chiefs said they also see severe behavioral problems among the young people returning from DJJ — racial divisions, gang affiliations that didn’t exist before and other antisocial behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A few of the youth have shared with us that in general there was just a lack of oversight and supervision of them. They shared details with us about correctional staff allowing them opportunities to engage in fighting and violence,” Neal said. “That behavior would escalate … and nothing was done to stop that. One of our youth said that the staff would say, ‘Just don’t kill anyone and don’t get caught.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yarber said one group of six young people had to be transported back to Sacramento County in two separate vans, because of conflict between the groups. And, he said, the problems are already spilling into the county juvenile justice system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The other real big indicator was, I think for the first time ever, arresting a parent at visiting,” he said. “Someone coming through our visitor center who had in their possession just hundreds of pills … thinking they would have a chance to sort of sit at the table together and might pass on those drugs to the youth.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘We had our youth share that correctional staff were providing the youth with contraband, whether it was with tattoo equipment items or drugs or alcohol.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Those pills, he said, were seized by probation staff, and included more than 90 laced with fentanyl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The chiefs want to see a state investigation into what’s happened at DJJ in recent months, and possibly criminal investigations by prosecutors. Neal said she’s filed one child abuse report, noting one young person returned to local custody with an untreated ankle injury.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been having local discussions because some of the things that have been shared with us, you know, fall under criminal behavior,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a written statement, a spokeswoman for the department that oversees DJJ said that the state takes allegations of staff misconduct seriously but will need “more and detailed information to formally open an investigation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The health and safety of youth in our care is our top priority,” said Terri Hardy, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, adding that after hearing concerns about opioid use, DJJ “immediately implemented a wave of testing for every remaining youth and testing prior to transport to counties.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said that out of more than 100 youth tested, “there was only one ‘refusal to test’ and one medically-related false positive. All other youth tested negative.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both Yarber and Neal said they are personally appalled and upset by what they’re seeing — and wondering how it’s going to affect the rest of their juvenile system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know, we send these youth to DJJ to be held accountable, but also to receive the skills and treatment they need to successfully reintegrate,” said Neal. “And then to know that those kinds of conversations and sessions weren’t happening with the kids and instead they were allowed to do this is just it’s — it’s just hard. It’s crazy … I’ll speak personally, it’s … it’s been heartbreaking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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