In 2024, San Francisco reported a significant decline in drug overdose deaths, with 633 fatalities, a 22% decrease from the record high of 806 in 2023. This marks the lowest number of overdose deaths in any of the last five years since tracking began in 2020. The city's Department of Public Health attributed this improvement to the expanded distribution of opioid addiction medications among unhoused individuals. Notably, this decline aligns with a national trend of decreasing overdose deaths, indicating a broader positive development in combating the crisis.
The SF Department of Public Health's monthly updates have been showing drops in those drug overdose death counts, and the drops were apparently not a mirage.
Treatment saves lives. The Chronicle points out that SF's overdose death reductions track with a similar national decline, so this is not just a San Francisco thing.
The DPH says their success comes largely from distributing opioid addiction medication to more than 1,300 unhoused people over the course of 2024.
Now that we have the final annual numbers, the Examiner reports that SF drug overdoses declined significantly in 2024, with 633 deaths, a 22% reduction compared to last year's deadly count.
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