San Francisco Announces Record 806 Overdose Deaths In City In 2023

New data from the City of San Francisco released on Wednesday found that 806 total drug overdoses occurred in 2023, marking the highest yearly number of overdoses ever in the city, and over 150 more than the 2022 amount of 649.

For years, San Francisco has struggled with the number of overdose deaths that occur in the city, with fentanyl  becoming the leading overdose drug of choice since the 2010s. However, overdose deaths exploded as San Francisco began to decline in the late 2010s and the social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic set in during the early 2020’s. In 2020, a record of 726 overdose deaths were recorded in the city. While there was a slight dip in the next few years, with only 649 occurring in 2022, a high number of crises plaguing the city in 2023 brought about a noticeable skyward trend.

San Francisco battled the trends on both the street and the courtroom. While they were affective in having  pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy chains paying record amounts to the city for their roles in the fentanyl crisis, including $24.8 million being paid by Teva Pharmaceuticals and $230 million being paid by Walgreens, it did nothing to pause the number of overdoses.

In the first three months of 2023, 200 fentanyl-related deaths were recorded, a huge jump from 142 deaths in 2022. The statistics grew worse on Wednesday when the San Francisco Department of Public Health announced that 473 people have died of accidental overdoses this year so far, with 71 coming in July alone. Of the total, 385 of the overdoses were caused by fentanyl, with the city on pace to break the 2020 record. Subsequent months showed high numbers of overdoses as well, including an August record of 84, resulting in San Francisco going well beyond the 726 overdose deaths in 2020.

According to the report by the city, the number of overdoses in the city in 2023 was 806. While city officials stressed that the number was preliminary, they had also been preparing for the worst since at least November when the old record was officially broken. Multiple city officials gave reactions to the milestone on Wednesday.

“San Francisco alone cannot solve this problem of record overdose deaths. We rely on our city and community partners, our legislators at the local, state, and federal level to join us in this moment to continue to tackle this crisis,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, in a statement on Wednesday. “Every 4 1/2 minutes, someone dies of overdose. This local and national crisis is driven by multiple factors, such as pharmaceutical marketing, poverty, limited drug-treatment options and decades of under-investment in behavioral health care.”

“We call on our legislators to make greater investments in behavioral health care, both mental health and substance-use treatment. We call on them to eliminate barriers to safe consumption sites, to access methadone and make all treatment more accessible. We can’t deliver services needed if we can’t hire and train a workforce. ”

In a post on X, Mayor London Breed added, “Our 2023 overdose numbers show that after a serious rise in ODs during the months leading up to August, we saw a 20% decrease in OD rates in the last four months. We will continue offering services, treatment, and finding ways to help people accept the care they need.”

Our 2023 overdose numbers show that after a serious rise in ODs during the months leading up to August, we saw a 20% decrease in OD rates in the last four months.

We will continue offering services, treatment, and finding ways to help people accept the care they need.

— London Breed (@LondonBreed) January 17, 2024

Addiction advocates in San Francisco told the Globe on Wednesday that they feared that 2024 is going to be even worse.

“Over 800 people dead, and we barely get a few posts of it,” said Harmony Smith, who runs a support group for addicts in San Francisco, to the Globe on Wednesday. “That’s several big plane crashes worth of people. Addicts are in a bad spot and need help, but San Francisco is obviously not doing enough. Support groups are having a high turnover, not because people are leaving, but because they meet an OD death. This shouldn’t be happening. This isn’t normal. But, I guess to some in San Francisco, they are.”

January overdose figures for San Francisco are due to come out in early February.