San Francisco mayor looks to tackle city drug crisis by paying residents to stay sober

San Francisco is considering paying welfare recipients who test negative for illegal substances, according to a proposal announced Monday.

The “Cash Not Drugs” program, introduced by Democratic San Francisco Mayor London Breed and San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Matt Dorsey during a press conference, would pay residents $100 a week for taking a negative drug test. Eligible residents must already receive assistance from the County Adult Assistance Program (CAAP), have a substance abuse disorder, and volunteer to take weekly drug tests.

“I want to make it just as easy to get treatment, as it is to go out there and buy dope,” Breed said during the press conference.

The stipend would be supplied in the form of gift cards or electronic benefit transfers, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. It would be funded by the Homelessness and Supportive Housing Fund and CAAP Treatment Fund, KTVU FOX 2 reported.

Salvatore Zucco, a San Francisco resident, said the program “would be a good short-term incentive,” but that $100 a week would not be enough incentive to quit long-term, according to KTVU FOX 2. Zucco spends up to $100 a day on fentanyl.

“$100 would not do it at all,” Jonathan Broomfield, another resident, told the local outlet, arguing instead he would need $300 a week to entice him to the program.

The proposal will face the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for approval, the Chronicle reported. It would be a three-year program administered by the city’s Human Services Agency alongside the Department of Public Health.

Today, I announced legislation to create a voluntary sobriety and recovery incentive to offer eligible public assistance recipients a bonus of up to $100 weekly. It’s an ambitious contingency management plan for testing negative for illicit drugs. (1/3)https://t.co/av2jKqmb4L

— Matt Dorsey 🥥 (@mattdorsey) July 29, 2024

San Francisco voters approved in March a proposition that “would require anyone who receives CAAP benefits to be screened for substance use disorder if the City reasonably suspects the person to be dependent on illegal drugs.” The city hit a record 806 accidental drug overdose deaths in 2023.

The city’s main library has also become a meeting spot for drug deals.

“The goal is to get people into treatment and get their lives on track,” Jeff Cretan, Breed’s communications director, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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