San Francisco Reports 16% Rise In Overdose Deaths Between 2017 & 2018

Overdose deaths in San Francisco, California rose by 16% between 2017 and 2018. In 2017, there were 222 overdose deaths by opioids, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine. In 2018, there were 259 overdose deaths of these types. During the first six months of 2019, there were 182 overdose deaths. Data for the last six months of 2019 has not yet been released.

Additional findings include:

In the July-to-December timeframe of 2018, the number of deaths from fentanyl increased 117.9%, compared to the first half of 2018, increasing from 28 deaths to 61 deaths. Fentanyl accounted for 57.0 . . .