The San Francisco City Attorney's Office filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to shut down a problematic store called The Corner Store, which in addition to selling weed and illegal flavored tobacco products, was also apparently selling meth.

The Corner Store at 401 Eddy Street sits at the corner of Eddy and Leavenworth in the Tenderloin, and it has been a source of trouble for San Francisco police since the current owners took it over in February 2023, according to the City Attorney's Office. The SFPD documented a dozen incidents including thefts, physical altercations, and arrests at or outside the store between March 2023 and November 2025.

Additionally, the city began getting complaints about the store selling tobacco products without a permit, which prompted a Department of Public Health undercover sting. The city found that The Corner Store was selling illegal flavored vapes and other products that were not FDA-approved, and issued them a violation notice.

Subsequently, in November 2025, the SFPD raided the store, conducting an inspection with DPH and the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, and they seized 48.1 grams of methamphetamine as well as around five pounds of illegal cannabis, along with a ghost gun and a variety of illegal tobacco products.

But The Corner Store apparently continues operating, and one of its owners also owns SF Discount Market, a nearby Tenderloin store that was busted in late 2024 for being an underground gambling den that also sold drugs and drug paraphernalia.

"For too long, a small number of bad actors have exploited the Tenderloin’s most vulnerable residents while evading real consequences," said Supervisor Bilal Mahmood in a statement. "When a corner store turns into a hub for drug activity, it undermines the safety and dignity of the entire neighborhood."

"The Corner Store didn’t just promote drug activity – it became the drug dealer," says City Attorney David Chiu, in a statement. "Families and minors rely on convenience stores, and we will not tolerate a store that that sells drugs."

Chiu adds that his office is "asking the Court to protect the community, shut this store down immediately, and level the playing field for law-abiding small businesses."

The legal complaint filed Wednesday, which can be read in full here, names defendants Karen Trinh, Abdulrahman Almehdhar, and Mustafa Mehdar Almehdhar, along with five unnamed defendants listed only as Does 1 through 5. Mustafa Almehdhar is identified as the manager of the store.

The city is seeking to shut down The Corner Store for one year, in addition to seeking damages and penalties.

Related: SF City Attorney Files Lawsuit to Shut Down Tenderloin Corner Stores Raided for Being Gambling Dens

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) just announced a major bust in Northern California in which federal agents seized 2,700 pounds of methamphetamine in various stages of production, marking one of the largest drug busts in US history.

We have news this week about a major drug bust that took place on February 27 in Valley Springs, California, in Calaveras County, resulting from a five-month investigation by the DEA's Sacramento office. As the Chronicle reports, the investigation began following an October report of illegal dumping in Calaveras County, and authorities found what they believed to be a significant volume of "byproducts of a drug lab," which ultimately led them to the lab in question.

Eight people were arrested in conjunction with the bust, including one individual who was reportedly on the National Terrorist Watch List. None of the names of the suspects have yet been released.

The seizure of 2,700 pounds of meth, the DEA says, "represents a substantial disruption to the supply chain operating within mountain and valley communities across the region."

"[This] operation demonstrates the effectiveness of coordinated federal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships," said Sheriff Rachelle Whiting of the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office, in a statement. "Through collaborative investigative efforts, we were able to significantly disrupt an alleged narcotic trafficking network operating within our communities."

12 firearms and over 1,000 rounds of ammunition was also seized in the operation, as well as 1,900 marijuana plants and over 100 pounds of processed cannabis.

According to a release, the DEA also busted a related lab operation in Turlock, as well as a suspected storage and distribution facility in Modesto.

Photos posted by the DEA appear to show the main lab operating out of a barn-like structure in a rural area.

The eight suspects face charges including manufacturing a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of chemicals with intent to manufacture methamphetamine, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and felony child abuse.

"DEA is committed to targeting and dismantling Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and individuals distributing methamphetamine and other dangerous poisons causing harm in our communities,” says Special Agent in Charge, Bob P. Beris of the San Francisco Field Division of the DEA, in a statement. “The Sacramento District Office worked relentlessly with multi-agency operations standing shoulder to shoulder delivering significant blows to the cartels and FTOs often linked to violent crimes, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and kidnapping. Our combined efforts are focused on protecting Americans from the deadly poison these FTOs push into our communities.”

New Zealand Customs agents discovered an unclaimed backpack filled with methamphetamine, and it seems to have been a special delivery from San Francisco.

The bag was intercepted at Auckland International Airport on Saturday, June 14, having arrived on a flight from San Francisco. As New Zealand Customs explained in a Facebook post, the bag was "referred to Customs by border partners who noticed some inconsistencies in x-ray imaging."

Customs agents found a vacuum-sealed package inside the bag, and the contents then tested positive for meth.

It seems likely the bag can be traced to whichever passenger checked it, but the situation is apparently under investigation.

"Customs continues to work closely with our border agency colleagues to disrupt the organised criminal groups behind these drug importations," says Chief Customs Officer, Tracy Henderson, in a statement. "Border agencies work swiftly to investigate any suspicious activity through our airport. It’s the sharp instincts of skilled frontline officers that continue to stop illicit drugs from making it into our communities."

It's not clear what flight was associated with the bag — both Air New Zealand and United Airlines fly to Auckland out of SFO.

Last month, a Southern California woman was arrested at SFO for allegedly trying to smuggle 151 pounds of marijuana on a flight to Frankfurt, Germany in multiple roller bags.

A 29-year-old man who was allegedly in possession of methamphetamine and was seen lighting things on fire in a park Monday morning was arrested, and he may be linked to multiple fires in the Outer Richmond, two of which destroyed playgrounds.

San Francisco police are investigating whether 29-year-old Joseph Martinez is the sole culprit in a string of arson fires this month in the Outer Richmond. Martinez was taken into custody Monday around 1:30 am after plain-clothed officers observed him "igniting objects" while walking around Sutro Heights park, in the area of La Playa and Balboa streets.

The officers later "observed a large active working fire," and after canvassing the area, located and arrested Martinez, and he was booked into SF County Jail on "numerous charges."

As the Chronicle reports, those potential charges include arson, possession of an incendiary device with the intent to set fire to a structure or forest land, possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Martinez hasn't yet been accused of the string of arsons that have been plaguing the Outer Richmond neighborhood, but those charges could be coming next. "SFPD is aware of several recent suspicious fires in the Richmond District, and we are continuing to work with the San Francisco Fire Department in our joint Arson Task Force to investigate these cases," the department said in a statement following Martinez's arrest.

Those suspected arsons include one that occurred in the early hours of May 1 on the 4500 block of Anza Street, and that fire destroyed a shed outside Lafayette Elementary School containing event decorations and school spirit materials.

A smaller fire occurred on May 10 at a playground at Lincoln Park, causing some damage to a slide.

The same arsonist appears to have returned to Lafayette Elementary on May 18, setting a larger fire that burned and melted a play structure and surface materials. And then, once again, a fire broke out three days later at the playground for older children at Lincoln Park, destroying around 2,500 square feet of climbing equipment, slides, and surface materials.

The SF Department of Rec and Parks estimates it could take six months to restore the playground and its equipment.

Lafayette Elementary School, Lincoln Park, and Sutro Heights Park, where Martinez was arrested Monday, are all in the same 10-block radius.

Photo of the damage at Lafayette Elementary School via Hallie Albert

There’s another batch of Tenderloin corner stores in the city’s crosshairs for running illegal gambling dens, and some are also accused of selling meth and weed right over the counter.

It’s getting to be a fairly common occurrence that SF City Attorney David Chiu prosecutes suspected illegal gambling dens in the Tenderloin, operating out of what appear to be normal corner liquor stores. This is generally because police find the location is home to telltale unauthorized gambling video games. But the Chronicle reports that Chiu’s latest lawsuits against four Tenderloin corner stores found that one of the stores was going well beyond illegal gambling.  

At a store called Family Corner Discounts at Ellis and Jones streets, Chiu’s office announced Friday that "SFPD executed a search warrant and seized six electronic gambling machines, $4,456 of cash, a payment ledger, foreign tobacco products, merchandise on display for sale with CVS price stickers, and 50.8 grams of methamphetamine located under a display shelf.”

Just a few doors down from there, an SFPD search at a store called US Smoke Shop turned up five illegal gambling machines, a couple gun magazines, plus “loose leaf cannabis, pre-rolled cannabis joints, cannabis vape cartridges, and illegal flavored tobacco products.” And one sure has to wonder about the above November 2023 Instagram post from US Smoke Shop promoting “mushroom cereal bars” on the shelves.

“It is clear these stores are magnets for substantial illegal activity,” Chiu said in his announcement. “Drug dealing, gambling, fencing, selling contraband and illegal tobacco products—these stores are the Wild West. One store went as far as to store meth for sale under a display shelf.”

Chiu’s lawsuits also target EZ Dollar Discount Store at 335 Jones Street, and Ed’s Market at 153 Turk Street.  At EZ Dollar Discount Store, the City Attorney’s office says that police observed “stolen merchandise on display for sale with Walgreens, CVS, Safeway, Big 5, Trader Joe’s, Target, and Harbor Freight branding” on their price tags.

These are lawsuits against the four stores, and not yet criminal charges. But Chiu’s office is asking the courts to shut down the stores for one year, and force each to pay a fine of $25,000.

Related: SFPD Busts Yet Another Underground Tenderloin Gambling Den and ‘Drug House,’ Four Arrested [SFist]

Image: Google Street View

An Australian woman says she was offered a free vacation to San Francisco if she agreed to transport a suitcase containing 20 kilos of methamphetamine.

25-year-old Yasmin VanTongeren is being held in San Mateo County after being arrested on February 11 at San Francisco International Airport. Vantongeren's checked luggage was found to have approximately 44 pounds, or 20 kilos, of suspected meth in a suitcase, separated into 20 sealed packages.

San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe announced the arrest and charges filed against Vantongeren, which include transporting a controlled substance for sale and possession of a controlled substance for sale. She is being held without bail by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

According to the DA, VanTongeren says that an Australian friend offered her a "paid vacation" to California, as well as a cash payment of $10,000 to $15,000, if she agreed to transport a suitcase back to Brisbane.

It's unclear why VanTongeren was tagged as a possible drug trafficker — or if her suitcase was sniffed out by K9s behind the scenes? — but she had apparently traveled through Los Angeles, where she told authorities she was handed a suitcase with a lock on it by a "random person." She was heading for a flight from SFO to Brisbane when she was detained.

VanTongeren allegedly told police at SFO that she had packed the suitcase herself, but this was before she was told what they had found inside.

She is scheduled back in court next Thursday.

The California Highway Patrol conducted a routine traffic stop in I-680 in Concord, and a drug-sniffing dog indicated there may have been narcotics in the vehicle. And were there ever, as the CHP seized nearly 100 pounds of suspected methamphetamine from the car.

We are just learning about this today, though the incident happened two weeks ago. The California Highway Patrol notes in a Wednesday Facebook post that on the morning of August 29, they pulled over a white GMC van on I-680 near Marina Vista Road in Concord for some sort of moving violation. Per the post, “the officer began to suspect the driver may be involved in additional criminal activity,” and a drug-sniffing KP unit was brought on the scene.

As KPIX reports, the dog barked, and the man had nearly 100 pounds of suspected methamphetamine in the vehicle.

Needless to say, the vehicle’s driver was arrested on the spot and taken into custody. That driver, 47-year-old Magdaleno Quezada Garcia of Concord, has been charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, and transportation of methamphetamine for sale.

Obviously, the image above CHP posted to Facebook is an all-time banger. But we do have to wonder… Is that dog okay?

Per KPIX, Quezada Garcia has been booked in the Martinez Detention Facility with bail set at $2.5 million. He has a court appearance scheduled for September 24.

Related: 23-Year-Old Man Arrested at SFO For Alleged Smuggling of 6 Kilos of Meth to Australia [SFist]

Image: CHP - Golden Gate Division via Facebook

A Brownsville man has now been charged with multiple felonies, including eight counts of attempted murder, in connection with a September 1 spree of violence and mayhem that began with a hit-and-run collision in the Haight.

Anthony Carl Sheldone, 42, of Challenge-Brownsville in Yuba County, is the suspect arrested following the September 1 chaos involving a marauding vehicle, and a stabbing that left one person injured.

"I am grateful that no one lost their life in this horrific series of violent incidents that transpired last weekend,” said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins in a statement. “Random, unprovoked, violence like this shake[s] members of our community to the core. My office will now do everything in our power to ensure that there is justice in this case."

We thought that the incident began around 8:30 am on the morning of Sunday, September 1, when a person was seriously stabbed near Broderick and Fell streets. But the DA's office now suggests that the spree began earlier, at 7:18 am, with an incident seen on surveillance video of a man walking a dog getting knocked down by a vehicle outside Brioche Bakery on Haight Street.

Sheldone then, allegedly, "drove head on into an oncoming car and physically assaulted another person waiting at a bus stop on Stanyan Street."

The Broderick and Fell stabbing may be this incident, described by investigators, in which Sheldone is "alleged to have asked a woman on the street to take her clothes off and then stab[bed] her husband who confronted him."

There is also this: "Later he is alleged to have run over two people crossing the street at the intersection of Stanyan Street and Fulton Street."

And: "At approximately 8:55 AM he is alleged to have hit and run over a 70-year-old victim who was crossing the street at Van Ness Avenue and Golden Gate Avenue."

Police earlier said that Sheldone, after being confronted by police near Dolores Park, rammed a police cruiser and fled into the Castro. It wasn't until he exited his vehicle and climbed a tree near Carson and Douglass streets that police finally surrounded him, and he was apprehended after he leapt 35 feet to the ground, out of that tree, and injured himself enough that he required hospitalization.

Sheldone was arraigned Monday morning, September 9, and he faces eight counts of attempted murder, seven counts of assault with a with a deadly weapon, one count of assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury, one count of criminal threats, one count of attempted assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of battery with injury to emergency personnel, two counts of assault upon a peace officer, one count of evading against traffic, and one count of evading an officer with willful disregard.

Prosecutors have moved to have him held in custody until trial, due to the danger he poses to the public.

Although charges have been filed, the DA's office stress that this remains an active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD.

Previously: Weekend Stabbing In SF Turns Into Crime Spree That Ends In Castro District

Image of SFPD vehicles during brief standoff on September 1 via Citizen app

For the last two years, SF General Hospital has been proactively trying to limit ER visits and public episodes among meth users by providing them with an anti-psychotic drug called Olanzapine that’s being called “the next Narcan” for stimulant addiction.

There’s been plenty of discussion of fentanyl’s role in the San Francisco overdose crisis of recent years, and rightly so, as 80% of fatal overdose victims in the city last year had been using fentanyl. But methamphetamine is still the drug that’s landing users in emergency rooms at rates higher than other narcotics. According to a recently published research paper in the International Journal of Drug Policy, 47% of visits to SF General Hospital's Psychiatric Emergency Services department “were related to methamphetamine use.”  

That same study noted that the SF Department of Public Health (SFDPH) started giving repeat meth-using visitors something called “Methamphetamine Assist Packs,” also known as "chill packs" The Chronicle this week examines the effectiveness of “chill packs” for meth users — these “chill packs” actually being four doses of an anti-psychotic drug called Olanzapine (commercially known as Zyprexa), which is normally used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

The SFDPH, which has apparently been handing out the drug to meth users for about two years, declined to comment for the Chronicle’s article. But the International Journal of Drug Policy study’s lead author, Dr. Phillip Coffin of SFDPH, has called Olanzapine “the next Narcan” for treating the effects of meth addiction.

The study found that emergency room visits decreased by 32% among those who’d been given the so-called chill packs. The authors concluded that “Methamphetamine Assist Packs were associated with fewer psychiatric emergency visits for six months after receipt, and represent a promising intervention to address acute psychiatric toxicity from methamphetamine.”

In some ways, this was not a proper study. It did not involve a control group, there were no placebos, and no interviews with patients on their use of the pills. Dr. Coffin has stated publicly that he’d like to do proper clinical trials on the topic in the near future.

Related: So-Called ‘Speedball’ Mixtures of Fentanyl and Stimulants Now Account for Most SF Overdose Deaths [SFist]

Image: Raining (talk) via Wikimedia Commons

A man who allegedly stole thousands of dollars of gear from an FBI truck may not have realized the value of the equipment, as his charging documents say he sold a $1,500 ballistics vest from that haul for a $20 bag of meth.

The Bay Area News Group has a report today of a man charged with stealing thousands of dollars worth of equipment from an FBI van. The alleged theft happened at 6:45 am the morning of Wednesday, August 7, and per the News Group, suspect Gregory Acosta Alvarez is accused of stealing “dozens of flash bang grenades, a gas launching gun, surveillance equipment and a ballistics vest.”

Acosta Alvarez was reportedly arrested that same day, with most of the equipment being recovered at his nearby hotel room. But the ballistics vest and gas launching gun were not recovered.

That’s because, according to the News Group, “Acosta Alvarez allegedly claimed he traded them to someone for $20 worth of methamphetamine.” The ballistics vest alone is worth an estimated $1,500.

The alleged theft occurred August 7 in SoMa, at 442 Natoma Street between Fifth and Sixth streets. FBI Special Agent Welton Pollard had parked the vehicle there, and surveillance video reportedly caught Acosta Alvarez breaking into and stealing gear from the van, and riding away on his bicycle.

FBI agents were able to locate Acosta Alvarez’s hotel room, approximately a quarter-mile from the scene of the truck theft. They found a defibrillator that had been stolen from the truck (a defibrillator!), along with the grenades and some of the surveillance equipment. But the ballistic vest and the gas gun has already been hawked for some meth, allegedly.

Acosta Alvarez faces federal charges of stealing government property. Though he’s being held without bail at SF County Jail, on charges of burglary, drug possession, grand theft, and trespassing, with some of those charges relating to the FBI truck theft, and others from a previous 2023 arrest. His first court appearance has not been set.

Related: FBI Raids Notorious Bayview Towing Company, the One That Tried to Tow a Moving Car [SFist]

Image: PROVO, UTAH - AUGUST 9: FBI officials unloads the equipment as they process the home of Craig Robertson who was shot and killed by the FBI in a raid on his home this morning on August 9, 2023 in Provo, Utah. The FBI was investigating alleged threats by Robertson to President Biden who is visiting Salt Lake City today and tomorrow. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

A Los Angeles man was arrested two weeks ago after he was caught by the TSA at SFO trying transport six kilograms of methamphetamine to Australia.

23-year-old Jauan Manuel Paz-Guzman is in the custody of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, after the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Bureau at SFO contacted them about the drugs allegedly found in Paz-Guzman's luggage on June 27.

The luggage was described as "two suitcases full of illegal drugs," and photos from the sheriff's office show multiple wrapped packets of meth, which reportedly totaled six kilograms.

According to a release from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, Paz-Guzman had purchased a ticket for a flight to Australia that day. The drugs were reportedly found through routine TSA screening of luggage.

The San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force responded to SFO after Paz-Guzman's arrest, and assumed control of the investigation from the San Francisco Police Department. This is standard protocol for criminal investigations at the airport — the SFPD handles day-to-day law enforcement at the airport, while the sheriff handles criminal cases.

Paz-Guzman was subsequently booked into the Maguire Correctional Facility in Redwood City on charges of transportation of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, and burglary. The reason for the latter charge was not made clear.

Photo via San Mateo County Sheriff's Office

Well this sounds pretty meth-y. A Sonoma County man who had asked police to get him an ambulance because he was having a panic attack allegedly ended up stealing that ambulance and taking it for a crazed trip through Santa Rosa.

The incident unfolded Wednesday evening outside Russian River Brewing Company's Santa Rosa taproom, at 725 Fourth Street, beginning at 7:53 pm. Police were called to the scene by a Russian River Brewing employee, due to a man who appeared to be in "an altered state," according to police.

When police arrived they spoke to the subject, identified as 36-year-old Sonoma resident Jorge Sanchez Rodriguez, and he said he was suffering a panic attack. Officers offered to drive Rodriguez to the hospital, but he said he wanted to go in an ambulance.

Soon, a Sonoma County Fire District ambulance arrived and EMTs evaluated Rodriguez's condition.

"An ambulance member was talking with Rodriguez outside of the ambulance, while the other ambulance member was inside preparing to transport Rodriguez to the hospital," the Santa Rosa PD says in a release.

"Rodriguez started to walk away from the ambulance member, and then suddenly ran to the driver’s side of the ambulance and got into the driver’s seat.  He then drove west on 4th Street with the second ambulance member trapped in the rear of the ambulance," police say.

Officers proceeded to chase Rodriguez around the city, and a spike strip was deployed after Rodriguez circled back onto Fourth Street. The spikes only disabled the driver's side tires, and Rodriguez continued to drive the ambulance toward Sonoma Highway.

Another set of spike strips was deployed on Montgomery Drive, which deflated the remaining tires on the vehicle, but Rodriguez allegedly still continued on, driving on rims, until he reached Memorial Hospital.

The photo below, shared by Santa Rosa police, shows the ambulance with its tires blown out.

At that point, police say, "Rodriguez immediately exited the ambulance and laid face down on the ground with his hands out." He was then taken into custody without incident, and the trapped EMT was uninjured.

Still, Rodriguez had not calmed down, and after he was placed into the back of a patrol car, police say that he "then began hitting his head against the security screen and kicking at the window."

He was then removed from the patrol car and strapped to a gurney, and it's unclear if he ever ended up being taken to the hospital.

Rodriguez was booked on suspicion of vehicle theft, reckless evading, kidnapping, resisting arrest, and being under the influence of a controlled substance. He reportedly remains at the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Center.

Related: SFFD Ambulance Stolen In Outer Sunset As Patient Was Being Brought to It, Taken on Joyride to Oakland

A raid on a cigarette shop in Oakland’s Seminary neighborhood turned up pounds of marijuana, cases of illegal menthols, two loaded guns, and what police call “suspected crystal methamphetamine.”

Oakland, like San Francisco and now the whole state of California, has a menthol cigarette ban. So it is not legal to sell menthols at Bay Area smoke shops. One of them on International Boulevard in Oakland’s Seminary neighborhood was recently caught with several cases of Newport menthols, but that’s probably the least of their worries, as KRON4 reports the shop was also busted in possession of pounds of marijuana, loaded guns, and suspected crystal meth.

The raid was apparently conducted way back on February 22, but the Oakland Police Department is just announcing it now. The raid, or “inspection” as the OPD is calling it, also involved the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

“During the inspection, officers seized a large amount of illegally possessed cannabis and related products, suspected crystal methamphetamine, flavored prohibited tobacco products, and a large quantity of non-taxed cigarettes,” OPD said in a Monday Facebook post. “The officers also recovered two loaded firearms from the store.”

That post also twice makes mention of tobacco sales to minors, so one wonders if that offense was what led to the “inspection.” The OPD says no arrests were made, but referred the case to both the Alameda County District Attorney and the Oakland City Attorney.

Neither the OPD announcement nor the KRON4 report makes mention of the name of the smoke shop. But according to KRON4, the described 5900 block of International Boulevard has “two smoke shops: Pop’s Gifts & Smoke Shop and Bob’s Smoke Shop.” As seen above, they happen to be right next to each other.

And one of the two has prominent signs on the windows promoting “Delta-8 THC” and “CBD,” so feel free to draw your own conclusions.

The Oakland Police Department says that if you suspect a business of selling illegal tobacco, or tobacco to minors, to contact the OPD Alcohol Beverage and Tobacco (ABAT) Unit at (510) 777-8677.

Related: Oakland Man Arrested in Alleged $137,000 Stolen Cigarette Fencing Operation [SFist]

Image: Google Street View

There’s a new version of the old 'speedball' that now substitutes fentanyl for heroin, and the upper/downer mix now accounts for most SF overdose deaths, though many of those victims may just not have known there was fentanyl in their product.

The Chronicle apparently just discovered the age-old hard drug term “speedball” in a new article today, a term that’s actually been around for decades to describe a mixture of cocaine and heroin that brings on a combo upper-and-downer high. It's this speedball combination (also sometimes called “goofball”) that claimed the lives of John Belushi, Chris Farley, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Michael K. Williams.

But the Chronicle’s report covers how people are now using fentanyl to make speedballs, combining that substance with crack cocaine or meth. Though it’s important to note that many of these people may not have been intentionally doing a so-called speedball, but instead were using what they thought was pure cocaine or meth, but was instead contaminated with fentanyl.  

Either way, these combinations of the depressant fentanyl and stimulants like coke or meth now account for most SF overdose deaths. According to the Chronicle's figures, 63% of SF overdose deaths in 2022 showed this combination, and they add “Data from the first half of 2023 suggests the total number and share of fentanyl-plus-stimulant deaths will be higher than ever this year.”

And it didn’t used to be that way. Per the Chron, in 2016, “less than one-third of fatal overdoses” involved fentanyl combined with a stimulant.

But again, that doesn’t necessarily mean that people are intentionally speedballing. We’ve seen many overdose cases involving people who thought they were using cocaine or meth, and were unaware they were actually using fentanyl.

“I think you’re seeing a spike in speedball and goofball ODs now because cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine are all adulterated with fentanyl,” Salvation Army Harbor Light  clinical director Adrian Maldonado told the Chronicle. “And when coke and meth have fentanyl in them, the user gets overwhelmed with the downer."

Anecdotally, heroin users in San Francisco have used stimulants for years during times when they did not have a safe space to crash or nod off — and one fentanyl user speaks to the Chronicle about using the speedball combination with crack to keep from getting his stuff stolen, because, "That little bit of crack cuts the nods."

So to any of you who do use cocaine or meth, we will stress how important (and easy) it is to get fentanyl testing strips. They are available for free at the Community Behavioral Health Services (CBHS) Pharmacy at 1380 Howard Street (hours here), and the above map shows establishments where Fentcheck has free testing strips available. Fentcheck also sells the testing strips online in sets bowls of 20 for parties or public venues, or an envelope of 40 for personal use.

Related: Five Hospitalized For ODs on Christmas After Reportedly Doing Contaminated Cocaine at Japantown Residence [SFist]

Image: SFPD via Twitter

People struggling with meth or cocaine addiction can earn up to $599 in gift cards to stay away from the stuff under a news state program, and San Francisco is one of the participating counties.

The New York Times reports today on an innovative, first-in-the-nation program that will pay meth and cocaine users to stay clean. That report details that this pilot program is available to residents suffering from stimulant use disorder (meth or cocaine addiction) in four California counties, but San Francisco is one of them. And a July report from CalMatters notes that Zuckerberg General Hospital is participating, though you do have to be enrolled in MediCal to enroll in this program that pays up to $599 to stay off the stimulants.

“It’s really a brave choice of California to try this against potential backlash and misunderstanding,” California Health Care Foundation associate director Catherine Teare tells the Times. “This isn’t going to solve it,” she adds, “but I think it’s well worth trying.”

As we’ve mentioned before, San Francisco is on pace for its deadliest year ever for accidental drug overdoses. And according to the California Health Care Foundation, meth-related emergency room visits increased 50% between 2018 and 2020. The notion of paying people to stay clean has proven effective, as a 2021 paper published in JAMA Psychiatry found that 80% of such clinically administered programs did reduce drug use.

One does need to be diagnosed with a stimulant use disorder to participate. Once enrolled, you basically pee in a cup to prove you’ve spent the week clean. The first clean test yields a $10 gift card. The value of the card gradually increases to up to $26.50 a week, and recipient max out at $599, because beyond that, it’s taxable income.

The program could cost the state up to $50 million, though the feds are covering the cost.

But why aren’t we doing this for fentanyl, which is causing the largest number of overdose deaths? Because fentanyl is an opioid, and there are targeted, pharmaceutical treatment therapies for opioid addiction. There are no such medical treatments for methamphetamine or cocaine addiction, so the state is hoping the $10-$26 gift cards may prove therapeutically useful.

Related: Someone Died From an Overdose Inside the Mid-Market Whole Foods That Just Closed [SFist]Image: MeNotMeth.org

Photo: Karen Mower/Getty Images