On November 3, 2020, the United States Presidential Elections commenced its operations from different places all over the country. After several days of counting all the ballots cast by voters, political candidate Joe Biden won the state’s presidential seat alongside his electoral ally and newly-seated Vice President, Kamala Harris. Due to his victory, people anticipate seeing how President-elect Biden would address S.F.’s difficulties, such as drug overdose problems, which are currently skyrocketing all over the state.
San Francisco administrators attempted to open safe injection sites for people suffering from drug addiction problems from the past several years. The injections site’s purpose is to shelter drug-overdosed individuals, allowing them to use drugs indoors and provide them medical assistants who can help them control their drug intake amounts. San Francisco strongly supports this proposition due to the alarming increase of drug overdose cases even in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak. However, former President Trump’s administration opposes this idea, stating that establishing these injection sites breaches the federal law. Additionally, they made threats of possible arrests against people adhering to such a proposal.
However, the electoral wins of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris might turn this situation around. San Francisco Mayor London Breed is “hopeful” to see California approving the legislation and establish a site the following year. Through this, Breed also stated that the federal government would not go against San Francisco’s plans to resolve drug overdoses.
Former President Trump threw disdain, insult abuse, and antipathy at San Francisco over the past four years of his state presidency. According to him, the city is nothing but a “filthy dirty” place and is in “horrible shape.” Additionally, Trump also labeled San Fransico as a “decaying” municipality, making it a target of verbal abuse and bullying by the former elected head of state.
With Trump finally seated off from Biden’s triumph in the elections, the city will no longer be the subject of dismissive attacks by the former president on Twitter.
The San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing’s interim director Abigail Stewart-Khan affirmed that Biden as the country’s newly-elected president gives off a” breath of fresh air.” According to Khan, she is relieved to have a state chief who employs the best methods and uses scientific data to inform plans for its welfare.
San Francisco also grapples with city issues such as political differences, housing requests due to constrictive zoning legislation, and red tape incidents aside from drug overdose issues. Additionally, the municipality struggles to manage its homeless population despite funding declines for the problem yearly.
According to UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation faculty director Carol Galante, San Francisco’s resolution for its affordability concern lies in Biden’s housing policy program. Furthermore, she mentioned that Biden’s vow to give Section 8’s program an increase in funding and renter tax credits could aid the city’s more low-income households.
However, without Congress’ approval, none of that extra financial support would push through. Regardless of the matter, Galante assured that Harris’ awareness of California’s concerns with housing and homelessness could help discern her priorities during her term as Vice President. Additionally, Bay Area native officials like Breed might have an easier time addressing these concerns to the White House.
Despite the establishment of injection sites not recognized as the best idea to address San Francisco’s skyrocketing opioid crisis, supporters of the proposition affirmed that it’s at least one strategy meant to help people struggling with drug addiction. The previously mentioned statement primarily focuses on fentanyl, the rumored drug responsible for the city’s hundred death cases every year.
To Drug Overdose Prevention and Education Project’s director Kirsten Marshall, the new administration could help them address the problem easier without the Department of Justice’s strings of criticisms with their plans to resolve the city’s drug overdose issue.
