Everyone knows San Francisco has a big drug problem. It's a huge city run by Democrats, so of course it has a lot of problems. But what might be surprising given the COVID hysteria in big blue cities these days, is the number of drug overdose deaths. In San Francisco alone, the death rate from drug overdoses is over three times higher than the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19.
The SFGate reported that a record 621 people in the city have died from drug overdoses this year, while only 173 people reportedly died from COVID-19. And the true number of overdoses is likely higher since the number comes from a city-funded program that utilizes self-reported data to track the number of people who used Narcan, a treatment used for opioid overdoses.
According to the Gate, the druggies are overdosing on sidewalks, in alleyways, parks, inside taxpayer-provided hotel rooms for the homeless, apartment buildings -- pretty much all over the city. The reason? The San Francisco Chronicle says fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, has flooded the city's drug supply. Maybe that's something the new radical district attorney who wants to decriminalize everything can clean up.
The Chronicle also blames the pandemic for disrupting city services like housing and drug addiction because, you know, those programs were working so well before. The media likes to blame the negative consequences of the Democrat-led lockdowns on "the pandemic," removing the Democrats' agency in the prolonged shutdowns and the devastating health and economic fallout that resulted. But it wasn't the pandemic that made life hell for so many in 2020. It was the Democrat-ordered lockdowns, which Democrats are all too eager to reinstate.
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The CDC recently reported that drug overdose deaths in the United States broke records in March and April, coinciding with the first lockdowns. Approximately 81,230 people fatally overdosed in the United States during the 12-month period from Jun. 2019 to May 2020, with deaths accelerating in the final months. It's the largest number of drug overdoses ever seen in a one-year period.
While the media presents constant updates about the death toll and number of Wuhan coronavirus cases, rarely is the damage caused by the lockdowns presented for the public to see. But it's there.
In May, after several weeks of painful lockdowns, hundreds of doctors signed a letter to President Trump calling the lockdowns a "mass casualty incident" negatively impacting the health of millions of Americans.
"These include 150,000 Americans per month who would have had a new cancer detected through routine screening that hasn't happened, millions who have missed routine dental care to fix problems strongly linked to heart disease/death, and preventable cases of stroke, heart attack, and child abuse. Suicide hotline phone calls have increased 600%," wrote the doctors.
More doctors would probably speak out but worry about losing their medical licenses, like the Oregon doctor who lost his after questioning the effectiveness of face masks.
Births are way down in the United States, suicides are way up, and millions have fallen into poverty. And don't forget the cost of freedom. Liberties surrendered to the government are seldom returned, or whatever John Adams said.
The good news is vaccines are on the way for those who want them. Finally, something San Franciscans can inject that won't kill them.
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