While far-left progressive politicians in California fearmonger and enact draconian lockdown measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, people in San Francisco are dying in the streets from overdoses. Indeed, despite the left’s constant hand wringing, deaths resulting from overdoses have been far more deadly to the city than the coronavirus.
The Associated Press reported: “A record 621 people died of drug overdoses in San Francisco so far this year, a staggering number that far outpaces the 173 deaths from COVID-19 the city has seen thus far.”
But it could have been even worse. “The crisis fueled by the powerful painkiller fentanyl could have been far worse if it wasn’t for the nearly 3,000 times Narcan was used from January to the beginning of November to save someone from the brink of death, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday,” according to the AP.
The number of San Franciscans who died from overdoses has increased drastically over the 441 people who died in 2019. This represents a 70% increase. The Associated Press reported that “2,610 potential overdoses were prevented by Narcan, a medication commonly sprayed up the nose to reverse an opioid overdose, according to data from the city Medical Examiner’s office and the DOPE Project.”
The issue is worsening because fentanyl has been infused into the city’s drug supply. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has hampered city services related to housing and treatment, meaning that those who are dying do not have anyone to help them if they overdose.
It’s not only San Francisco that is dealing with heightened drug use amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Washington Examiner reported:
“Other areas of the state have seen a spike in drug use and overdoses amid lockdowns, including in Los Angeles County. In 2013 in the county, fentanyl accounted for 3% of drug-related deaths. At the start of 2020, 42% of drug deaths were fentanyl-related in the area, and that number jumped to 51% when lockdowns were enacted in March.”
This issue could very well become more severe as time goes on, especially if the Democrat leadership continues keeping onerous coronavirus restrictions in place. But these circumstances further demonstrate how out of order the Democrats’ priorities are.
Even someone with Don Lemon’s IQ could see that the energy progressive politicians are putting into restricting the residents under their governance would be better spent trying to do something about the drug users dying from overdoses. Unfortunately, these deaths are not as politically useful for the far-left as the COVID-19 pandemic.
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