SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Board of Supervisors approved an emergency order to tackle the opioid epidemic in San Francisco’s troubled Tenderloin neighborhood, despite reservations by some that the declaration will be used by the mayor to criminalize people who are homeless, addicted to drugs or both.

The vote shortly after midnight on Friday was 8-2, following a marathon 10 hours of debate and public comment. The public health emergency declaration authorizes the Department of Emergency Management to re-allocate city staff and bypass contracting and permitting regulations to set up a new temporary center where people can access expanded drug treatment and counseling.

Advocates for the homeless and substance users urged supervisors to reject the emergency order because Mayor London Breed has also pledged to flood the district with police to halt crime, which some residents want. The mayor also said some drug users may wind up in jail unless they accept services, although drug possession is a misdemeanor crime and rarely enforced.

The board ultimately approved the declaration, calling the abundance of cheap fentanyl a crisis. More people in San Francisco died of overdose last year than of COVID-19.

“I know that this is an incredibly painful, traumatic and emotional conversation,” said Matt Haney, the supervisor who represents the neighborhood, before the vote. He said he hopes the city will bring all of its “innovation, unyielding compassion and relentless determination” to confront the crisis.

Several supervisors raised objections, although only Board President Shamann Walton and Dean Preston voted no. They decried the lack of details and dearth of available treatment beds, and said that over-policing would victimize African Americans and the homeless.

Walton, the only African American person on the board, said he wished more attention would be paid to homicides in his district, which includes the traditionally Black neighborhoods of Bayview and Hunters Point.

The Tenderloin includes museums, the main public library and government offices, including City Hall. But it’s also teeming with people who are homeless or marginally housed, a high concentration of drug dealers and people consuming drugs in broad view.

The order itself does not call for increased police and Police Chief Bill Scott assured supervisors that officers have no intention of locking up people just because they are addicted to drugs. Still, he said police can’t simply ignore what’s happening in a neighborhood where children are scared to go outside and people are injecting poisonous drugs.

“We’re out there to help,” Scott said. “We’re not out there to turn a blind eye to people killing themselves on the street.”

In announcing the emergency declaration last week, the mayor said it was time to be “less tolerant of all the bull— that has destroyed our city.” On social media this week, she said people openly using drugs will be given treatment and other service options.

“But if they refuse, we’re not going to allow them to continue using on the street,” she said on social media this week. “The families in the neighborhood deserve better.”

Breed has committed to opening a supervised drug consumption site as well as a drug sobering center, and said the emergency management department will lead the response much like it coordinated efforts to address the pandemic. The department will, in part, streamline emergency medical calls, disrupt drug dealing and use, and make sure streets stay clean.

Deaths attributable to overdoses have increased more than 200% in San Francisco since 2018, and last year, more than 700 people died from drug overdoses in the city, more than the number who died from COVID-19, according to the proclamation.

Nearly 600 people have died of a drug overdose this year, through November, with nearly half of the deaths occurring in the Tenderloin and in the neighboring South of Market district, says the proclamation. These areas make up 7% of San Francisco’s population.

Politically liberal cities across the US are grappling with crime in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd, when their elected leaders pledged ways to reduce friction between police and vulnerable communities of color, particularly African Americans such as Floyd.

San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin joined the city’s public defender earlier this week to denounce the mayor’s plan, saying that jailing people struggling with addiction, mental health issues and homelessness would not work. They want her to use the money on adding more treatment beds, shelters, job training and other social services.

“What we currently see in the Tenderloin didn’t happen overnight and stems from years of massive disinvestment and displacement,” said Jeannette Zanipatin, California director at the Drug Policy Alliance.

The emergency order will last 90 days.

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FILE – San Francisco Mayor London Breed talks during a briefing outside City Hall in San Francisco on Dec. 1, 2021. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved an emergency order the mayor wants to tackle an opioid epidemic in its troubled Tenderloin district. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

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FILE – People sleep near discarded clothing and used needles on a street in the Tenderloin neighborhood in San Francisco, on July 25, 2019. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved an emergency order the mayor wants to tackle an opioid epidemic in its troubled Tenderloin district . (AP Photo/Janie Har, File)

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The San Francisco board of directors met Thursday to review an emergency order proposed by the mayor to tackle the opioid epidemic in the city’s troubled Tenderloin neighborhood, with some members clearly dismayed by the criminalization statement could be used by people who are homeless, drug addicts, or both.

The Public Health Emergency Declaration allows the Emergency Management Department to reassign city staff and bypass contract and licensing regulations to create a new temporary center where people have access to expanded drug treatment and counseling.

But homeless and drug users lawyers are calling for a no because Mayor London Breed has also pledged to flood the district with police officers to stop crime. Public health officials promote treatment for drug addicts, not punishment, but Breed has said that people who use drugs in public can end up in jail unless they accept services.

Regulators said they welcomed the idea of ​​treating a drug epidemic fueled by cheap synthetic fentanyl for the crisis it is. In the past year, more people died from overdose in San Francisco than from COVID-19.

“I believe we should all mobilize all the resources we have in this city to deal with this crisis,” said Supervisor Hillary Ronen. “But based on the way this has been described in the media, I don’t think we’re talking about the same thing.”

The tenderloin includes museums, the main public library and government offices, including the town hall. But it is also teeming with people who are homeless or in marginal homes, with a high concentration of drug dealers and drug users.

Breed said last week it was time to “be less tolerant of all of the bull – this has destroyed our city”.

“If someone openly uses drugs on the street, we give them the opportunity to take advantage of the services and treatments we offer. But if they refuse, we won’t allow them to continue consuming on the streets, ”she said on social media this week. “The families in the neighborhood deserve better.”

Breed has pledged to open a monitored drug consumption center as well as a drug denial center, and said the emergency management department will lead the response as much as it coordinates efforts to combat the pandemic. The department will, in part, streamline emergency medical calls, halt drug trafficking and use, and ensure the streets remain clean.

The number of overdose-related deaths in San Francisco has increased more than 200% since 2018, and over 700 people died from drug overdoses in the city last year, more than the number who died from COVID -19 died, according to the proclamation.

Nearly 600 people died of drug overdoses this year through November, with nearly half of the deaths occurring in the Tenderloin and neighboring South of Market District, the proclamation said. These areas make up 7% of the population of San Francisco.

Politically liberal cities in the US are grappling with crime following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, when their elected leaders pledged ways to reduce friction between police and vulnerable color communities, especially African-Americans like Floyd.

San Francisco Prosecutor Chesa Boudin joined the city’s public defender earlier this week in denouncing the mayor’s plan, saying that detaining people struggling with addiction, mental health problems and homelessness would not work .

They want her to use the money to build additional treatment beds, shelter, professional training, and other social services.

“What we are currently seeing at the tenderloin did not happen overnight and is the result of years of massive divestments and evictions,” said Jeannette Zanipatin, California director of the Drug Policy Alliance.

If approved, the emergency order would take 90 days, unless Breed requests an extension.

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