Drugs and Overdoses
Drug policy and overdoses.
16 stories · Sep 4, 2026 – Oct 30, 2026
Stories
Friday, October 30, 20261 story →
San Francisco's first MGM-15 death was a 37-year-old Genentech scientist
San Francisco's first death from the synthetic opioid MGM-15 has been identified as Robert Schuldt, a 37-year-old scientist at Genentech, Sing Tao reports, citing the Chronicle. A package labeled cat's claw extract found among his belongings tested positive for kratom alkaloids, and city health officials say MGM-15 is 50 times more potent than morphine.
Thursday, October 29, 20261 story →
Steve Adami, divisive S.F. abstinence advocate, tapped for city recovery job
Steve Adami, who has expressed views critical of harm reduction and housing first, has been appointed to a city recovery job, Mission Local reports. Sources tell the outlet the appointment was made at the mayor's behest.
Saturday, October 24, 20261 story →
Death Linked to New Opioid Included in San Francisco’s Latest Overdose Snapshot
San Francisco recorded 48 fatal overdoses in September, putting the year's total at 399, the health department said Friday. The count includes the city's first death from MGM-15, a kratom-derived opioid sold at gas stations and convenience stores in packaging marketed as a supplement. Hillary Kunins of the Department of Public Health said people should avoid products that do not come from reputable sources.
Friday, October 23, 20262 stories →
Drug complaints used to fall into the void. Now, San Francisco will report them to police
Reports to San Francisco's 311 app have a new category that sends drug complaints to police for potential enforcement. Getting an officer to show up still requires a phone call, the Standard reports.
Police raid smoke shops, seizing suspected contraband as SF reports first fatal overdose from new opioid
San Francisco police drug investigators searched several smoke shops and seized kratom, 7-OH packets, flavored tobacco and drug paraphernalia, with two shops raided in the Haight and Richmond districts. The Department of Public Health also confirmed the city's first fatal overdose involving MGM-15, a semisynthetic opioid derived from kratom. The drug has been linked to deaths elsewhere and is temporarily listed as a Schedule I controlled substance.
Thursday, October 22, 20261 story →
SF records first overdose death from a synthetic opioid sold at gas stations
San Francisco recorded its first fatal overdose involving MGM-15, a kratom-derived synthetic opioid sold in products marketed as supplements, the Department of Public Health said. The Standard reports the substance was found in the toxicology results of an adult who died in late September and in the packaging of the product. City officials have now raised alarms about a deadly new drug twice this year.
Thursday, October 15, 20261 story →
Residents say drug crackdowns pushed activity into their neighborhood
Residents around the Hub, where SoMa, the Tenderloin and the Mission meet, say stepped-up enforcement on Sixth Street and in the Mission has pushed drug use to their blocks, according to the Chronicle. Supervisor Matt Dorsey said police staffing limits keep the department from handling all low-level offenses.
Monday, October 12, 20261 story →
Mayor Lurie Slammed By Supes Missing City Hall Hearing on Drug Use, Street Conditions
Mayor Daniel Lurie skipped a four-hour Board of Supervisors hearing Thursday on public drug use and street conditions and appeared on CNN the same day in a segment filmed a week earlier, the Chronicle reported. The hearing included testimony from staff at a Mission District elementary school, and Supervisors Rafael Mandelman and Jackie Fielder criticized the mayor's absence.
Sunday, October 11, 20261 story →
S.F. supervisors press city on drug markets: Are the crackdowns working?
San Francisco supervisors are pressing city departments on whether the crackdowns on drug markets are working. Cracking down on the markets has been a goal for Mayor Daniel Lurie since he took office, and a year and a half in, some supervisors say they want to see results.
Saturday, October 10, 20261 story →
S.F. supervisors press city on drug markets: Are the crackdowns working?
San Francisco supervisors pressed city officials on whether the mayor's crackdown on drug markets is working. Cracking down on drug markets has been a goal for Mayor Daniel Lurie since he took office. A year and a half later, some supervisors say they want more evidence of results.
Thursday, September 24, 20261 story →
Hundreds of people are desperate to get sober. They’re being turned away at the door
Two decades after San Francisco voters approved treatment on demand, people seeking detox are still being turned away, according to The Standard. The article describes the gap between demand for treatment and the beds available.
Tuesday, September 22, 20261 story →
SF Hub residents say drug activity has moved to their doorstep
Residents of the Hub, a city-created zone in San Francisco, say the city has pushed its drug problem to their doors and turned a once-decent area into a new Tenderloin, the World Journal reports. They point to enforcement concentrated in other districts as the reason the activity moved into their neighborhood.
Wednesday, September 16, 20261 story →
What’s behind SF’s falling overdose death toll
Fatalities from fentanyl and other drugs in San Francisco so far this year are 24% below the count for the same period in 2025. The Standard looks at what is behind the decline.
Tuesday, September 15, 20261 story →
San Francisco police seize 20,000 cychlorphine pills, a drug more potent than fentanyl
San Francisco police said Monday they broke up a ring selling counterfeit prescription pills, arresting four people and seizing more than 20,000 pills, other drugs and guns. The investigation began after a 16-year-old San Francisco boy died of an overdose in April; the medical examiner found cychlorphine, a synthetic opioid that can be 10 times as potent as fentanyl.
Friday, September 4, 20262 stories →
Both California and San Francisco passed drug-free housing bills. How would they coexist?
California lawmakers passed a bill that would open drug-free housing across the state, and San Francisco passed its own version in July. The article examines how the two measures would interact.
Family Suing Muni Bus Driver and City After Homeless Man OD'd and Stayed on Bus For Hours
The family of Quinton Allen, who died after an overdose on a 9-San Bruno Muni bus in 2023, is taking a wrongful-death case to trial in February. The bus operator has testified he believed Allen was sleeping after trying to rouse him.