News Reporter

David Sjostedt

The powerful narcotic claimed 620 lives in San Francisco last year. The Standard worked to uncover a few of their stories.

California prisons are making Narcan widely available and reevaluating substance use disorder treatments as drug overdose deaths grow.

The new drug, which made its way from the East Coast, is believed to be up to five times more powerful than fentanyl in some cases.

Homicide charges for fentanyl poisoning are rare. But the arrest this week comes less than a few months after a similar case in Sacramento. 

The call for more resources to combat fentanyl comes as the drug takes the lives of hundreds of San Franciscans each year.