More people died of drug overdoses than of Covid in San Francisco over a one-year period. Why has one of the richest cities in the world been devastated by drugs?
Fentanyl is 100 times stronger than morphine and even a tiny quantity can kill. But its low cost has made it a popular recreational drug. Parts of the city were placed into a state of emergency in December to crackdown on overdose deaths. And after defunding the police, the city’s mayor has now refunded the police to tackle the issue. But the Democratic mayor and democratic District Attorney are divided on how to fix the problem. James Clayton reports for Our World and Newsnight.
Website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsnight
Lesson plan
Read this article : “Overdose Deaths Reached Record High as the Pandemic Spread” by Roni Caryn Rabin and answer these questions
- What is fentanyl? How has it contributed to the rise in overdose deaths?
- How did the pandemic complicate recovery for people struggling with addiction?
- How important do you think it is for the United States to address drug overdoses? Explain.
- Is this a problem in other countries? Read this article “Europe dodges US fentanyl crisis but for how long?“
- Watch the two videos below and write a text about t