California Authorities Seize Lethal Amounts of Fentanyl, Other Drugs in San Francisco

300,000 fentanyl pills and 10 kilograms of fentanyl found and seized by authorities in the Bronx, New York, on Oct. 7, 2022. (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration)

California authorities have seized highly lethal amounts of fentanyl in San Francisco, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on June 15.

The California Highway Patrol said the amount of fentanyl seized in the past six weeks is enough to kill the city’s entire population nearly three times over.

This fentanyl crisis update comes after the government launched a public safety partnership between the city and state on May 1, which was designed to stop fentanyl drug trafficking through a multi-agency enforcement operation.

The California Highway Patrol and California National Guard personnel have joined forces to improve public safety throughout the city.

According to the California Highway Patrol, they have seized over 4.2 kilograms of fentanyl in the Tenderloin neighborhood and surrounding San Francisco.

California Assemblymembers, law enforcement officials, and local representatives met in front of the state Capitol in Sacramento on June 6, 2023, to announce a proposed constitutional amendment that would put stricter fentanyl enforcement on the upcoming 2024 presidential election ballot. (Courtesy of Assembly Republican Caucus)

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration considers a lethal dose of fentanyl to be 2 milligrams.

“I’m proud of the CHP and CalGuard’s lifesaving efforts to shut down the Tenderloin’s poison pipeline and hold drug traffickers accountable,” Newsom said in a statement. “These early results show promise and serve as a call to action: we must do more to clean up San Francisco’s streets, help those struggling with substance use and eradicate fentanyl from our neighborhoods.”

Multiple Drug Seizures

Since the operation began, the California Highway Patrol has also seized over 957 grams of methamphetamine, 319 grams of cocaine, and 31 grams of heroin, and they’ve carried out 92 felony and misdemeanor arrests related to the drug seizures.

The effort is focused on “targeting fentanyl trafficking, disrupting the supply of the deadly drug in the city, and holding the operators of drug trafficking rings accountable,” according to Newsom’s office.

The governor previously said that the operation will not criminalize those addicted to drugs.

“Those who traffic drugs, guns, and human beings are not welcome in our communities,” Newsom said in an earlier statement. “That’s why we’re launching this operation. This is not about criminalizing people struggling with substance use—this is about taking down the prominent poison peddlers, and their connected crime rings that prey on the most vulnerable and harm our residents. While it’s true that San Francisco is safer than many cities its size, we cannot let rampant crime continue.”

California legislators are actively passing bills to protect Californians against fentanyl and recently passed 16 fentanyl-related bills that would focus on education, prevention, and treatment of fentanyl overdose.

One of those bills would require public places such as schools, stadiums, and concert venues to carry naloxone, a drug that can reverse an opioid overdose.

State Sen. Anthony Portantino of Burbank, who authored the bill, said the drug would reduce the number of fentanyl-related overdoses.

“Our schools and other impacted places must have the tools needed to save lives, and parents should not have to worry if emergency treatments are available to help in the moment of crisis,” Portantino said in a statement.

Overdose Deaths

Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat severe pain, is the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States.

San Francisco experienced 620 deaths in 2022, of which 72 percent were attributed to fentanyl, according to data released by the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed said everyone would have to work together to disrupt the flow of drugs in San Francisco and help those struggling with addiction.

“I want to thank Governor Newsom for supporting San Francisco through this partnership between our state and local law enforcement agencies,“ Breed said in a statement. ”Our Police and District Attorney have been working hard to enforce against open-air drug dealing in our City, and this partnership with the California Highway Patrol and CalGuard will help them make more progress and deliver results for our City.”