San Francisco, CA
Struggling with a drug crisis, San Francisco wants Narcan available at every pharmacy
SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco could become the first city in the country to require every pharmacy within its boundaries to always carry naloxone, a drug that reverses overdoses caused by fentanyl and other opioids.
San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey will introduce a bill Tuesday that, if approved, would require every pharmacy to always have in stock at least two nasal sprays containing the drug or face fines.
The city has struggled for years with rampant fentanyl use and fatal overdoses, and is on pace for its deadliest year yet.
There were 647 accidental drug overdose deaths in San Francisco in 2022, and over 70% of those deaths were attributable to fentanyl, according to the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
In the first five months of 2023, preliminary reports show there were 346 overdose deaths in the city — an increase of more than 40% from the same period in 2022. More than 79% of those deaths were attributable to fentanyl, according to data from the medical examiner’s office.
Dorsey, a recovering meth addict, said he wants universal access to naloxone because the medication saves lives when it reaches an overdosing person in time.
“This is life and death, and this is a public health crisis that San Francisco has not experienced since the days of the AIDS crisis,” Dorsey said.
Making naloxone more widely available is seen as a key strategy in controlling the nationwide overdose crisis, which has been linked to more than 100,000 U.S. deaths annually.
Narcan, the leading brand of naloxone nasal spray, is already available without a prescription in all 50 states, where leaders have issued standing orders for pharmacists to sell the drug to anyone who asks for it. But not all pharmacies carry it.
Dorsey said a recent “secret shopper” survey conducted by the San Francisco Department of Public Health found that approximately 20% of San Francisco pharmacies did not have naloxone in stock, despite having legal authorization to provide it on request.
In San Francisco, police officers, firefighters, and paramedics are trained to identify an opioid overdose and carry Narcan. Many public libraries, public housing facilities and clinics are also stocked with the drug.
“We want all San Franciscans, no matter where they live, no matter where they work, to be able to go to their pharmacy and get it and so this measure, removes one more barrier to everyone having access to this lifesaving medication,” said Dr. Jeffrey Hom, director of population behavioral health at the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
Dorsey’s ordinance would allow a three-day grace period for pharmacies to reorder two boxes, and fine violators between $250 and $1,000 per violation.
In March, the Federal Drug Administration approved Narcan nasal spray to be sold over-the-counter. The medication will become available that way by late summer, according to Gaithersburg, Maryland-based Emergent BioSolutions, the maker of Narcan. Other brands of naloxone and injectable forms will not yet be available but could be soon.
Walgreens said naloxone is already carried in all of its San Francisco pharmacies.
“Walgreens believes that saving lives from deadly opioid overdoses is a shared responsibility amongst all public health stakeholders,” said Perry Han, Regional Vice President of Walgreens.
In May, Walgreens agreed to pay nearly $230 million to San Francisco to settle claims that the pharmacy giant helped fuel the opioid epidemic plaguing the city.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
San Francisco, CA
Hayes Valley Quadruple Murder Suspect Convicted on All Counts
Lee Farley, 36, was convicted Friday of shooting and killing four men in the Hayes Valley neighborhood in 2015.
In a statement, prosecutors said that Farley was found guilty of using a rental car from Walnut Creek to perform a drive-by shooting on an idle Honda Civic, firing 18 shots into the vehicle before fleeing.
All four victims died on the scene.
Farley, who initially plead not guilty, was serving time for unrelated charges in 2016 when authorities connected him to the shootings, according to reporting from SFGATE.
“Our strong legal team fought hard, understanding that while nothing we do can bring back their loved ones, that hopefully this verdict brings them some comfort,” said District Attroney Brooke Jenkins in the statement.
Farley is set to be sentenced on Dec. 16.
Photo via X
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Giants Predicted to Spend This Offseason in Free Agency
The San Francisco Giants are heading into free agency and the offseason as a very interesting team to watch.
It was another disappointing season for the Giants in 2024, as they finished under .500 once again and missed the playoffs for the third straight year.
The struggles in San Francisco resulted in a change in the front office, as Buster Posey took over as the President of Baseball Operations.
With the decision to add Posey to the front office, the hope is that he will be able to lure in some of the top caliber free agents that they have been missing out on in recent years.
The Giants haven’t been shy about spending money, but that money hasn’t always went to the right places.
Recently, Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report ranked teams in different tiers based on what they will spend this offseason. For San Francisco, he placed them in the tier that will be spending this winter.
“Perhaps the most interesting team on this list is the Giants, with former NL MVP Buster Posey now serving as their president of baseball operations. He’s talked about wanting to figure the shortstop position out, which is why we’ve projected the Giants as the landing spot for Adames. But San Francisco has had a hard time getting star players to sign on the dotted line in recent years, probably due in large part to Oracle Park being seen as a bad place to hit at 81 times a season.”
While the Giants have the desire to sign a superstar and the next face of the franchise, there have been some indications that they might not break the bank this offseason. However, at the same time, they have been linked to some of the top free agents this winter.
Currently, the biggest need for San Francisco is in their lineup. While Juan Soto would be a great addition, him going to the Bay Area seems unlikely. However, a player like Willy Adames or Alex Bregman might be a more realistic target. Neither one of those players would be cheap, but both would instantly upgrade the lineup.
In addition to trying to upgrade the lineup, the Giants also saw Blake Snell decline his player option to become a free agent. Considering how good Snell was in the second half of the season, it will be interesting to see what the plan is to either bring him back or replace him.
While San Francisco will certainly be spending this offseason, the real question will be how much the organization is willing to invest.
San Francisco, CA
Atmospheric river storm causes minor flooding in San Francisco
Some San Francisco roadways and neighborhoods experienced minor flooding Friday as the atmospheric river dumped heavy rain on the city.
Matthew Coric said he was inside his restaurant when all the sudden he noticed water rising outside.
“Water was coming over the curb already and Rainbow Grocery closed for the day because they flooded or started to flood, and the next two restaurants had water in their restaurant already,” said Coric.
Two years ago during another big storm, the entire block flooded with several feet of water.
Coric told KPIX he was determined to not let that happen again, so he and some of his employees grabbed brooms and anything else they could get their hands on and ran towards the flooding.
“These two drains right here on either side of the street, we literally couldn’t see them. This was up above the curb. We were just blindly scraping trying to get it unclogged until we could see the little tornado start,” said Coric.
He said they were able to unclog the drain just in time to stop the water from flooding his restaurant, and that it took about 30 minutes for the water to fully recede.
While he is happy they were able to avoid another crisis, he said he wishes the city would have been monitoring the area so that he and his employees didn’t have to fix it on their own.
“It flooded two years ago, and then last year the city was like high alert. They would park their trucks out here and make sure nothing happened. But now it’s been two years, they forgot about us again and same thing happened,” said Coric.
He said, from now on when it rains, he’s going to monitor the drains himself and step in anytime he sees them getting clogged.
He recommends that others in areas where flooding happens do the same.
“If you’re out on the street, anybody right, and you see the drain overflowing, I know if you can wait for the city that’s great, but it might not come. Just clean it yourself or get somebody that can just to save everybody a bunch of headaches,” said Coric.
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