The department also announced an in-kind donation from Biobot Analytics to support wastewater testing for new and emerging drugs over the next year. Officials said the testing is intended to provide a more complete picture of local drug trends and help public health workers respond more quickly when new substances are identified. Xylazine is one substance they will now be able to test for.<\/p>\n
Health officials said the first wastewater samples were mailed earlier this month, and they are awaiting results. The data will cover the entire city except for Treasure Island.<\/p>\n
Dr. Jeffrey Hom, the department’s medical officer for science and policy for substance use services, said additional resources remain necessary to address the crisis.<\/p>\n
“People in San Francisco continue to die from overdoses at an unacceptably high rate. More investments are needed in treatment, housing, and evidence-based direct public health services and are needed to help reduce the harms from high-risk substances and save lives,” Hom said.<\/p>\n
Community organizations working with people struggling with addiction also welcomed the latest figures.<\/p>\n
MORE: How people in SF’s Tenderloin perceive reported progress in drug and homelessness issues<\/a><\/p>\n “Fantastic news, right? I mean, more deaths going down means people have more of a chance to recover,” said Dr. Larry Kwan, CEO of the St. Anthony Foundation. The foundation offers services that include a dining hall, a medical clinic and a one-year recovery program.<\/p>\n Kwan said there may be multiple reasons behind the decline in overdose deaths but noted that harm-reduction efforts could be playing a role.<\/p>\n “I don’t know why. I know I’ve read studies that there are multiple reasons that are potentially. But some of it is our work in the area of harm reduction in Narcan and things like that to prevent those deaths. In the end, where our group focuses is on, when they’re alive, how do we get you to that next step out of suffering from addiction,” Kwan said.<\/p>\n Bobba said an increase in treatment capacity and reaching out so people have access to treatment are part of why the numbers are going down.<\/p>\n The city’s RESET center is a place where law enforcement takes people who are intoxicated or doing drugs on the streets into custody, where they get access to treatment instead of jail time.<\/p>\n
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