Total overdose: Drug-related deaths in San Francisco up by 41% in three months

Drug-related deaths in San Francisco have increased by 41 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, with one person dying of an accidental overdose every 10 hours, reported The Guardian.According to the reports by San Francisco's medical examiner, 200 persons died of overdoses in the city in the last three months, up from 142 in the same period last year.Those living on the streets were especially heavily hit, with twice as many homeless people dying of overdoses between January and March of this year as compared to the previous year.In most of the deaths, Fentanyl was detected.According to The Guardian, Dr Daniel Ciccarone, a professor of addiction medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said, “It’s a crying shame that a city as wealthy as San Francisco can’t get its act together to deal with overdose deaths.”He added, “We’re a politically divided city between the people who have a lot of money and want the streets swept and those who think a compassionate, science-based, health approach is appropriate.”The increase in deaths began in December and was especially visible in January, when 82 people died, bringing the city's overdose fatalities to an all-time high.Hillary Ronen, San Francisco supervisor, claimed that the city has failed to come up with ways to deal with a “horrific crisis”.She said, according to The Guardian, “Fentanyl is corrupting every part of the drug supply and all the social problems that underlie the drug addiction crisis continue – widespread poverty, trauma with no access to mental health care, inequality, and homelessness.”With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.