Officials with the city of San Francisco have announced that they plan to move forward with establishing a supervised consumption site for people who use drugs in spite of the veto by Governor Gavin Newsom of Senate Bill 57, which would have granted permission to a few select municipalities to establish an overdose prevention center as a limited-time pilot project.

The New York Times reported on August 22, 2022 that "Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation on Monday that would have allowed some California cities to open supervised drug-injection sites as part of a pilot program meant to stem a rushing tide of fatal overdoses."

According to the Times:

"Supporters of the measure, including local elected officials, said that the synthetic opioid fentanyl was driving the worst overdose crisis in American history, one that has become closely entwined with California’s catastrophic housing emergency. They said the bill offered Mr. Newsom a chance to save thousands of lives while also saving taxpayers the cost of many ambulance rides and emergency room visits.

"The bill would have allowed the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland, as well as Los Angeles County, to set up supervised injection facilities in communities that were already struggling with open drug use and frequent overdoses. At the centers, drug users would be offered supplies like clean needles, and could be connected with treatment services."

The San Francisco Standard reported on August 22, 2022 that:

"San Francisco plans to move forward in allowing a non-profit to open up a safe consumption site despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s veto of a bill, Senate Bill 57, that would have legalized the sites at the state level.

"City Attorney David Chiu indicated in a statement to The Standard that the city plans to back a local non-profit in opening a safe consumption site, which are banned federally under the Controlled Substances Act."

The Standard also reported that "Mayor London Breed echoed those sentiments in a statement, writing that 'we know implementing overdose prevention programs is a key step in our efforts to help people struggling with addiction.'"

For more information see Drug Policy Facts: Supervised Consumption Sites.