Tenderloin residents sue San Francisco in effort to stop distribution of harm reduction kits

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — A conversation with a Tenderloin resident can be, at times, unconventional.

“I mean there was a dead body underneath by window in February,” revealed Howard Stone, a long-time Tenderloin resident.

Stone says watching people overdosing in the Tenderloin is heartbreaking but something you learn to accept.

The Tenderloin has been the hotspot for fentanyl in San Francisco which, many say, has lead to the further decay of the neighborhood.

Too many city proposals have led to too many unfulfilled promises.

Now, some residents are looking to the courts in hopes of curbing the drug use here.

Last week, they asked that the city stop “directly or indirectly supplying fentanyl or methamphetamine-related drug paraphernalia to any individuals, groups, organization or entities within the Tenderloin neighborhood.”

Paraphernalia like pipes, aluminum foil and other instruments that, they claim, attract both drug dealers and drug users to the Tenderloin.

MORE: SF says no more distribution of ‘harm reduction kits’ without option for treatment

“It’s had a severe effect on the Tenderloin, specifically out clients’ properties. Our clients face a variety of conditions including things like individuals smoking these powerful drugs outside of their homes. The smoke and smell of these drug, acting erratically, defecating at their doorstep,” said Ashcom Minoiefar, of the law firm Walkup, Melodia, Kelley & Schoengberger.

Stone, who is not part of the lawsuit told us until recently, every morning there was chaos outside his apartment.

“Six months, seven months of just every single day, the police would come in the morning and clear them out and they’d be back by the afternoon,” he said.

Among the plaintiffs are parents of children who are afraid to go out and seniors with mobility issues who find it hard to navigate the sidewalks.

The well-known Phoenix Hotel also joined in the lawsuit. The owners say conditions on the streets made it hard to attract tourists.

Among those asked to depose was Randy Shaw of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic.

“It’s been devastating to the Tenderloin because you have people outside city-funded shelters and encampments using drugs,” confirmed Shaw.

The City Attorney, David Chiu responded saying, “We firmly believe that lawsuits of this kind do not improve conditions on our streets. The courts are not equipped to step into the shoes of elected policymakers and voters in order to craft broad strategies to address crime, substance use, and homelessness.”

MORE: What is SF’s strategy after 400+ fentanyl overdoses in 2024?

Yet, ABC7 News discovered that last April David Chiu filed a complaint against two Tenderloin businesses for illegal gambling, fencing, drug sales and selling drug paraphernalia because he argued that “they attracted criminal and nuisance activity to the surrounding community… adversely affecting the neighborhood and the health, safety and well-being of those who live and work in the area…”

Ironically, the same reasons used today by residents of the Tenderloin who want the city to stop allowing the distribution of drug paraphernalia by nonprofits.

Dr. Hillary Kunins, a top official at the San Francisco Health Department also deposed and when asked “have fentanyl pipes been distributed in the Tenderloin'” since she began her job, Kunins invoked her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

“What the 5th is protecting this individual from is testimony that might later be used in some kind of criminal action, ” explained Minoiefar.

Chiu told ABC7 News that the city-funded programs distribute these supplies in a controlled environment and require treatment referral.

Last April, Mayor Daniel Lurie ordered those non-profits like Glide and the AIDS Foundation to stop distributing drug supplies to people on the streets as a harm reduction strategy.

The order also mandated that if harm reduction kits were given out, all nonprofits receiving funds from the city had to distribute information on treatment and counseling.

But video shows that the mandate is not always being followed as pipes are handed out with no strings attached.

MORE: California bill sparks debate over drug-free supportive housing and harm reduction in SF

ABC7 News found that treatment brochures are not always displayed in full sight, instead relegated to a corner.

Regardless, Shaw says, Mayor Lurie’s mandate is not working.

“Why would mentioning treatment to someone who’s an addict, but you’re not offering treatment, they’re there to get a pipe, they’re there to get the free materials to facilitate drug use. Do you think they’re in the mentality to seek treatment? I don’t think so,” said Shaw.

But UCSF research has been done on what some say are the benefits of distributing harm reduction kits.

Without access to clean foil and pipes, Dr. Daniel Ciccarone told us last year that there is a higher risk of overdoses because of the fentanyl that accumulates after multiple uses.

“This residue remains bio active even though it looks burnt, it’s the sugars, the filler if you will, that’s burnt, the active produce remains,” said David Ciccarone, UCSF Professor of Addiction Medicine.

Regardless, Tenderloin residents like Howard Stone say they’re just looking to keep their streets healthy and safe.

“Yes, this is a horrible place to live, I will agree but I’m on SSI and this is all I can afford and this is where, I’m here,” said Stone.

Next month, the case will be heard by a U.S. District Court judge.