Number of people injecting drugs in SF up 50 percent in past decade

Black tar (pictured here) and brown powder heroin produced in Mexico has dropped in price from $1,000-$1,400 an ounce in 2016 to their current range of $600-$800 per ounce, according to the DEA. Black tar (pictured here) and brown powder heroin produced in Mexico has dropped in price from $1,000-$1,400 an ounce in 2016 to their current range of $600-$800 per ounce, according to the DEA. Photo: UniversalImagesGroup, UIG Via Getty Images Photo: UniversalImagesGroup, UIG Via Getty Images Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Number of people injecting drugs in SF up 50 percent in past decade 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

When the chief of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's San Francisco Division picked up his out-of-town brother for a quick tour of the city, his brother mentioned he wanted to swing through the Tenderloin.

He'd seen the TV reports and wanted to see how bad the drug situation was for himself.

"Sure enough, there's four users shooting up in plain view," said Special Agent Chris Nielsen. "In one block, he had seen it all and he was shocked."

Nielsen, a 22-year veteran at the DEA's San Francisco Division office in the Tenderloin, has seen a lot of drug use on city streets over the years but can't remember ever seeing people openly shooting up like he does now. "It's shocking to me," he said.

More people than ever are now injecting drugs in San Francisco, as heroin floods the market and drives prices down. Black tar and brown powder heroin produced in Mexico has dropped in price from $1,000-$1,400 an ounce in 2016 to their current range of $600-$800 per ounce, Nielsen said.

"Traffickers are recognizing there is a demand for heroin," he said. "What we see now is traffickers who were once just moving methamphetamines are now co-mingling loads — they are trying to expand into new markets."

The general number of people who inject drugs has also been steadily rising for years, and in the past decade, the number has gone up by more than 50 percent, according to data from the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH). The biggest spike occurred between 2005 and 2012 when the number shot up 121 percent.

There are currently an estimated 24,429 people who inject drugs in the city, about half of whom are heroin users, according to SFDPH. This year, SFPD incidents related to heroin possession or sales have already surpassed last year's total of 435, according to SFData.org.

"There is a national opioid epidemic, and S.F. is not an exception," said SFDPH Director of Communications Rachael Kagan.

Discarded needles on city streets stand as further evidence. In March 2017, the Public Works Department collected more than 13,000 syringes, compared with only about 2,900 the same month in 2016.

Kagan said methamphetamines are another commonly injected drug on San Francisco streets.

Fentanyl – a powerful opioid that can be cut into heroin to make it even more potent — has also seen a recent rise on city streets. This year, the San Francisco Division of the DEA has seized 16.66 kilos of fentanyl, compared to zero in 2014.

"A couple of years ago you really didn't see fentanyl in the heroin. Now, you are seeing it," Nielsen said. "Somewhere, someone is producing large quantities of fentanyl. If you get a cheap kilo of that, you can make a fortune on your heroin."

Fentanyl can be purchased cheaply from China and is often trafficked into the U.S. from Mexico or Canada. Nielsen said it is increasingly cut into heroin, cocaine or fake oxycontin or oxycodone pills. It can easily lead to overdose.

"If they get the recipe right it won't kill the user, but if they don't, it could," Nielsen said. "It seems like users are looking for the best possible high they can get without dying, and that's a very fine line."

Three-fourths of heroin users also start out by using prescription drugs, and heroin is a cheaper alternative to prescription drugs on the streets, said DEA Special Agent Casey Rettig.

From 1980-85, most of the heroin seized in the U.S. came from Southwest Asia, according to DEA records, a region later eclipsed by Southeast Asia between 1988-1994. South America became the leading importer in 1994 and remained so until 2013, when Mexico firmly took hold.

San Francisco's biggest heroin suppliers are Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Nielsen said. On a street-dealing level, he said the DEA has identified a group of Hondurans — some with ties to the East Bay — who have a corner on the market.

In 2015, 93 percent of the heroin seized in the U.S. was produced in Mexico.

"I do think supply matters. It's our job as law enforcement to reduce the supply," Nielsen said. "Nationwide, it's being looked at every level."

"We are hopeful," Rettig said. "Behaviors can change. Attitudes can change."