Dems Pass Bill To Allow More Open Drug Use Sites In California

Democrats approved Tuesday’s bill in the California State Legislature. This is despite recent failures at a Tenderloin site in San Francisco.

This bill, SB57 has the following purpose:

The bill would authorize the City and County, County of San Francisco and County of Los Angeles to authorise entities to run overdose prevention programs for people who meet certain requirements. This bill would allow the City and County, County of San Francisco, County of Los Angeles, and the City of Oakland to authorize entities to operate overdose prevention programmes for persons who meet certain requirements. It would also provide a hygienic environment supervised by trained staff where drug users can consume preobtained drugs, access to or refer to substance abuse disorder treatment.

KRON 4 reported Brooke Jenkins, the new San Francisco District Attorney, had pledged to end open air drug use. This promise was not accepted by her predecessor, DA Chesa Bodin.

Jenkins stated that dealers are no longer allowed to flood streets with fentanyl without any consequences. Jenkins spoke with reporters at the Tenderloin Tuesday.

Jenkins met Tenderloin residents and listened to their concerns about public safety. She stated that she cleared the streets to ensure that people who live in the area can live normal lives.

According to the UK Daily Mail’s Wednesday report that the Tenderloin Linkage Center in San Francisco was a safe place for drug use, it was closed. Only one of the 1,000 addicted people sought treatment there, according to the city. It is feared that it has made the problems in the area worse.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democratic legislator, has 12 days to make a decision on whether to sign or veto a bill to avoid triggering parliamentary override votes.