(KRON) — San Francisco had 718 individuals cited for substance use in the past year. Only 53% of those arrested were self-identified as living in SF, with 47% of those cited as non-residents, Mayor London Breed’s office reports.
Twenty percent of those arrested for substance use are also receiving city-funded cash assistance through the County Adult Assistance Program. To be eligible for CAAP, individuals must be San Francisco residents. Of those 141 individuals, over a third of them stated they lived outside of San Francisco, the mayor’s office said.
“These numbers serve as proof that we must continue doubling down our efforts to shut down our drug markets that are attracting people to come here,” said SF Mayor London Breed, “We will continue to work to get people into treatment, but we can’t continue to leave people to deteriorate and die from overdoses.”
Health Savings Accounts, or HSA, currently require proof of residency in San Francisco for a minimum of 15 days, but people are reportedly providing false information when applying.
“To account for the high cost of living in San Francisco, the monthly CAAP cash grant is $712, which is the highest in the state and more than twice the statewide average,” said Trent Rhorer, Executive Director of the San Francisco Human Services Agency.
In 2023, local law enforcement agencies made over 2,000 arrests for drug sales or drug use in the Tenderloin area, seizing over 260 pounds of fentanyl. Over 350 arrests have been made in 2024 so far, the report states.
