A Survivor’s Perspective on San Francisco’s Drug Crisis

WHAT CAN BE DONE? –

April 26, 2021 – Mr. Wolf, whose mother immigrated from Mexico, spoke to the dealers in Spanish and helped them wire money to their families in Honduras. They showed him pictures of the homes they were building with their drug earnings. Mr. Wolf noted the fancy furnishings and the new cars in the driveways. Eight of the people Mr. Wolf met when he was on the streets are now dead from overdoses.

Mr. Wolf was arrested five times between April and June 2018 for drug possession. The sixth time, he was jailed and charged with violating a stay-away order and intent to sell drugs. In jail, he was given medication to help relieve his withdrawal symptoms. He was bailed out by his brother on the condition that he enter rehab. He is now back with his family.

A lifelong Democrat, Mr. Wolf says he shares the goals of harm reduction in San Francisco. But he argues that some of the programs that the city funds, like handing out foil and straws to fentanyl users, cross the line into enabling drug use.