A new federally-funded study of drug police and overdose statistics out of San Francisco indicates that drug seizure-related law enforcement actions are linked to increases in opioid-related deaths nearby immediately after the police action.
The American Medical Association published a new article on Wednesday that states, “The enforcement drug distribution laws in San Francisco to increase public security for residents may have an unintended adverse consequence by increasing opioid overdose deaths.” It may be more effective to use evidence-based interventions and policies in order to reduce overdose deaths.
The chances of an overdose death within 100 metres of a police seizure increased within one day, the report says. “The elevated risk continued for seven days afterward.” The team found similar results when they analyzed the overdoses in 250-meter- and 500-meter-zones around a previous drug seizure.
The report notes that “the magnitude of risk diminished over time.”
Researchers from RTI International University of California San Francisco and University of Washington say that their findings go even further than merely confirming previous research. Instead, they argue that there is no convincing evidence to date that seizing and policing drugs will reduce drug abuse or harms.
The report says: “To the best of our knowledge, there are no studies that show supply-side interventions such as police policing, drug seizures, and other measures reduce drug use, or drugs-related illnesses.” The study found that the arrest of people on an unregulated market selling drugs and the seizure of the drugs may actually have a negative impact on public health, increasing the number overdoses.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded the study.
A five-person team of researchers analyzed records from 2020 to 2023, using data collected by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of San Francisco and the San Francisco Police Department. This report aims to determine “whether the location and timing of drug seizures by law enforcement were related to subsequent overdose deaths involving opioids,” according.
The authors said that San Francisco “is of particular interest, given its second-highest density in large cities in the US. It has also been engaged in increased law enforcement and drug enforcement activities since 2019.”
Reports say that around this time, fentanyl began to enter the drug market, and the overdose rates reached record levels. This led to increased drug enforcement, and more aggressive policing from San Francisco’s district attorney and mayor.
In the period of study, there were 2,674 drug seizure crimes, varying between 16 to 106 per month. In April 2020 (at the beginning of COVID-19’s pandemic), residents were advised to stay indoors.
In the meantime, overdoses caused by opioids were responsible for 1,833 deaths, which ranged from 25 to 60 per month.
When comparing the data from both sets, a relationship was revealed between police seizures of opioids and deaths due to overdose.
This team found “that exposure to police drug seizure incidents was significantly related with community spreading of opioid overdose events,” where the rate of subsequent overdoses were higher days after and at locations near law enforcement drugs seizure event in San Francisco.
They noted that these findings are similar to one from a previous study done in Indianapolis (Indiana), which showed that future The non-fatal — In areas near drug seizures related to opioids, the rate of overdose is more than two times higher.
A new analysis found that death rates from overdose also increased in San Francisco after the COVID ordinance, which prompted San Francisco to adopt a shelter-inplace ordinance.
Authors wrote: “The policy of isolating people into single room hotels to prevent COVID-19 was good, but those using drugs were left without anyone to help and witness them in case they overdosed.”
It continues: “The best way to reduce this problem is by installing overdose prevention centers in hotels with single rooms and providing safe drug supplies.”
Authors noted that the authors’ findings, which are in accordance with past research from various countries, also showed higher mortality rates due to overdoses.
This new study identifies “numerous alternatives that are evidence-based and address public health, safety, and opioid usage.”
Some of these include easier access to medication for opioid abuse disorder (MOUD) and even “a safer supply” or regulated opioids.
Report: “Clinical trials conducted on a random basis have demonstrated that a controlled supply of diacetylmorphine is a better way than standard methadone to keep people in the treatment program and reduce illicit drug usage and criminal behavior.”
Decriminalizing the possession and use of drugs is another approach—one that’s “brought down overdose mortality and HIV rates in Portugal without raising crime rates,” authors noted, “and early data from Oregon suggests that it did not produce increases in other crimes.”
The paper goes on to say that “another evidence-based solution is to give people a place where they can use drugs under supervision at sites for overdose prevention.” These have shown to decrease overdose deaths, crime and disorder in neighborhoods.
Researchers said that the team’s findings show the necessity to reconsider drug policy in response to high overdose rates.
As we face overdose rates which have led to a decrease in US life expectancy, We need to take into account how the existing policies affect this public health concern,” they said, adding that:
We recommend that you try evidence-based methods which have been proven to work elsewhere. These include providing safe drugs for people with addictions, providing free substance abuse disorder treatment to those who request it, decriminalizing drugs and creating a more conducive environment in which to consume drugs.
The new study, published in JAMA Network Open, comes on the heels of another American Medical Association-published report around marijuana and drug testing during pregnancy.
The research showed that the removal of isolated marijuana as a cause for urine drug tests during pregnancy, was associated with “improved racial equity in testing and reportage” of test result to Child Protective Services, and there were no signs of decreased identifications of non prescribed and non cannabis substances, and also “no evidence of a decrease in identifications of any measured neonatal results.”
Another recent study that drew on federal crime data found that Atlanta’s move to decriminalize marijuana in 2017, contrary to warnings from some critics, led to a decrease in violent crime as police turned their attention to more urgent matters.
Report: “Decriminalization resulted in a decline in violent crime.” This was “likely because police shifted resources away from cannabis enforcement and towards violent crime prevention.”
This past October, two other federally funded reports published by the American Medical Association examined issues of cannabis and pregnancy. The American Medical Association published two reports in October that examined the issue of cannabis and pregnancy.
As for other American Medical Association (AMA)-published research, a study late last year found that psilocybin-assisted therapy in a group of frontline clinicians during the COVID-19 pandemic “resulted in a significant, sustained reduction of symptoms of depression.”
A separate AMA-published study that received federal funding analyzed product listings on a popular marijuana advertising site and found that nearly half of all products were “flavored,” based on notes in the product descriptions. Researchers raised concerns that those flavors—along with cannabis-infused edibles, products like concentrates and merely listing retailers and products online—may make marijuana more appealing to young people.
American Academy Of Pediatrics’ study reveals that licensed Marijuana businesses verify the age of customers to avoid youth sales.