San Francisco police increase citations for open-air drug users

San Francisco police cited people for possession of drug paraphernalia, in some cases moments after they were legally supplied syringes and pipes from publicly funded harm-reduction programs, The Examiner has found.Standing outside the Tenderloin Center, Jeff, who uses fentanyl and methamphetamine, said he was recently cited by police for holding a glass pipe that he had picked up at the same facility not long before officers stopped him.

In California, it is lawful to possess syringes as well as supplies for safer smoking, including glass pipes and foil, which are made available for public health purposes and distributed from syringe services programs. The law also does not require people to have documentation, such as a receipt or ID, to prove where they obtained such materials.

So in July, harm reduction advocates were baffled when San Francisco police dramatically increased citations and arrests of people possessing drug paraphernalia. The experience matched what other harm-reduction service providers said happened outside their doors last month. Experiences vary, however. One woman named Akisha told The Examiner that she picks up clean needles and pipes from harm-reduction centers to shoot heroin and smoke fentanyl without having to share or use contaminated materials. She’s never had any trouble with the police for carrying her supplies, she said while holding a piece of foil with residue alongside friends in United Nations Plaza.

When asked if its citations for paraphernalia run afoul of state law protecting those who obtain it from a supervised site, SFPD did not directly answer. Still, she has not ruled out adjusting the office’s policy on standalone paraphernalia charges. She told The Examiner on Tuesday that her approach would be designed in collaboration with other city agencies.

Every European country prohibits open drug use and mandates treatment. I mean, do you guys do actual research over there?

Harm reduction in age of Fentanyl is a disaster.

People should be able to break all the laws they want, wherever they want, with no required recovery plan, and contribute nothing to society!!! Fascists!!!

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