Overview
- The policy requires drug users to undergo counseling or connect to treatment services to access safer drug use supplies, effective April 30, 2025.
- Public distribution of smoking supplies like foil and pipes will be prohibited, moving distribution to city-sanctioned indoor locations.
- Critics warn the policy could increase injection drug use, raising risks of overdoses and disease transmission, including HIV and Hepatitis C.
- The city acknowledges insufficient treatment capacity to meet demand but plans to add 1,500 treatment beds and open a stabilization center in the Tenderloin.
- The San Francisco Department of Public Health will monitor overdose rates and disease transmission to evaluate the policy’s impact on public health goals.