The far-left city of San Francisco is set to have its deadliest year on record in terms of drug overdoses, further emphasizing the coastal city’s struggles with rising crime, homelessness, and drug abuse.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, the California city recorded 692 accidental overdose deaths from January to October of 2023, as reported by the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner last month. By the end of the year, that total is expected to top 800, surpassing the previous record of 720 deaths in 2020.
The primary cause of overdose deaths in the city is fentanyl, which was responsible for 83% of drug-related deaths in the first 10 months of 2023.
Methamphetamine and cocaine were responsible for 51% and 46% of drug overdose deaths, respectively, in the same time period. To a lesser extent, some who overdoses have also used medicinal opioids and heroin.
The drug problem is just one of many crises facing San Francisco, many of which are driven by the city’s soft-on-crime approach. Many prominent companies, from restaurants to retailers, have shut down locations in the city due to concerns of robbery, vandalism, and violence against employees which largely go unpunished. Many of the stores that have remained in the city have resorted to locking down their merchandise, including putting them behind locked glass cases, and even chaining doors shut to prevent shoplifting.
In September, San Francisco recorded a record-high office vacancy rate of 34%. In another survey of 74 restaurants throughout the city, just 3% reported that they did not suffer from any vandalism in that same month.