I came across an interesting story from San Francisco. I think it’s important to note that sharing this doesn’t imply that San Francisco’s drug problem is representative or that the positions espoused by members of their recovering community are representative of other communities.
However, it’s an interesting story and, while it may not be representative of other communities, it may provide a useful window into some cultural currents.
People in recovery have often been associated with calls for more compassionate drug laws and enforcement of those laws.
Those kinds of calls for policy change have resulted, not just in reductions in incarceration and increases in pathways to treatment, but also in a rise of a “hands off” stance toward drugs and drug use. In some places, that “hands off” stance has resulted in increases in public disorder.
Public disorder associated with drugs has been a concern in San Francisco for several years, and there have been several attempts by a few administrations to address it.
I’m not in San Francisco, and I don’t know their recovering community, but this story gives the impression that patience is running out for this group of recovering people. The story quotes a spokesperson saying, “We need to just enforce the law. We allow people to do things that are illegal. Nobody’s held accountable,” and a public health response included, “We are focused on high-impact interventions that get people into effective treatment.”
