San Francisco mayor proposes enforced drug tests, treatment for those receiving government aid

San Francisco Mayor London Breed wants welfare recipients to get substance abuse screening and treatment.

As part of a new plan to increase accountability, those receiving government aid will be held to different standards.

The city and county will provide financial assistance to homeless or formerly homeless individuals who complete substance abuse treatment after a screening process.

"San Francisco is a city of compassion, but also a city that demands accountability," said Breed. "We fund a wide range of services, and we want to help people get the care they need, but under current state law, local government lacks tools to compel people into treatment. This initiative aims to create more accountability and help people accept the treatment and services they need."

It is proposed that all individuals undergo assessment for substance abuse disorder, with the treatment requirement for eligibility to receive benefits.

Only those who successfully engage in the treatment program qualify for aid. Treatment options are comprehensive, ranging from medically assisted to outpatient, ensuring the best possible outcome for each individual.

District 6 Supervisor, Matt Dorsey, stands firmly behind the proposal with his full support.

"We're facing an unprecedented loss of life in San Francisco, and we know coercive interventions can work. This approach reflects a key principle from the National Institute on Drug Abuse that treatment doesn't need to be voluntary to be effective and that sanctions and incentives can significantly increase treatment entry, retention rates, and the ultimate success of drug treatment interventions," Dorsey shared.

District 8 Supervisor, Rafael Mandelman, also supports the new deal.

"In recent years, San Francisco has earned a reputation as a destination for people who use the most toxic drugs to come and eventually die," Mandelman said. "I support this effort to make San Francisco the City where people are able to get sober and build a better life."

Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin issued a statement opposing the mayor's new deal. Peskin believes that Breed should prioritize the eradication of drug dealers and open-air markets instead of drug testing welfare recipients.

"These are serious times in San Francisco - and we need serious ideas, not politicians desperately grasping for a political lifeline," Peskin shared. "Mayor Breed does not have the ability, nor the will, to organize our many public safety resources to close down drug supermarkets and open-air fencing of stolen goods. If she can't find the way to prevent several hundred brazen criminals from selling deadly drugs- how does she think she will find the resources to drug test thousands of welfare recipients?"

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Politico reports that Breed will reveal the legislation's text in the coming weeks, as drug use is increasing in the homeless encampments of San Francisco.