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For more than two decades, “harm reduction” was official policy in San Francisco. As a formerly homeless heroin and fentanyl addict in recovery, I saw firsthand how this policy, which tried to make illegal drug use “safer,” devastated the city. In my six months on the street in 2018, I watched harm-reduction groups hand out free drug paraphernalia; in the years since, I’ve seen harm-reduction workers distribute crack and meth pipes—without telling users how to get treatment.
Newly elected mayor Daniel Lurie has decided to move the city away from this failed model. Now, San Francisco has a chance to do the right thing: expand access to treatment.