An exhaustive 45-page report from the San Francisco Methamphetamine Task Force has a laundry list of recommendations, and the meth sobering center was immediately approved.
Here’s an alarming fact about the San Francisco methamphetamine landscape: half the people admitted to Zuckerberg General Hospital these days are high on crystal meth at the time. That staggering finding was included in the February announcement of a San Francisco Methamphetamine Task Force to be headed up by Sup. Rafael Mandelman. That task force has just submitted its recommendations, and SF Bay reports that its top-line suggestion of a meth sobering center was immediately approved by Mayor London Breed. The Chronicle adds that Breed said her plan “is to have at least one of these centers open within the next three to six months.”
Today, the Meth Task Force released its list of recommendations to address meth use in San Francisco – an issue that is hurting so many people in our City. We're already working to implement several of these recommendations as part of UrgentCareSF. pic.twitter.com/V5wdyZexac
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) October 22, 2019
“We need places that are not psychiatric emergency services, that are not emergency rooms, and that are not jail for people who are meth intoxicated,” Sup. Rafael Mandelman told KQED. Mandelman serves as the task force’s co-chair.
The treatment center (or centers) would be similar to the alcohol sobering center the city has been operating since 2003, and is just one of the 17 recommendations the task force submitted. Another is a mobile app where people or businesses could call for a street response team — instead of police — to come and de-escalate public situations with meth users, and lay the groundwork with them for considering treatment.
Since there is no prescribable medication for reducing meth use, and only behavioral solutions, that task force also recommended giving vouchers or financial incentives for users who successfully reduce or eliminate their meth use. In an acknowledgement that homelessness can be a contributing factor to addiction or relapse, the task force also called for housing subsidies for those who voluntarily enter treatment.
And we want to drop another reminder that if you or anyone you know is struggling with meth addiction, Tweaker.org is an excellent clearinghouse of advice, resources, and support tips.
Related: Stolen iPad Leads Cops To 780 Pounds Of Crystal Meth [SFist]
Image: MeNotMeth.org
