Committee adopts amendments and forwards 'Recovery First' ordinance to full Board

The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee voted April 24 to accept amendments to Supervisor Matt Dorsey’s "Recovery First" ordinance and to forward the amended ordinance to the full Board with a positive recommendation.

Supervisor Matt Dorsey introduced the ordinance as an amendment to the Administrative Code to establish "the long term remission of substance use disorders for individuals" as the primary goal of the city's substance use disorder treatment policy. Dorsey described the measure as seeking a "policy North Star" and said the ordinance "doesn't replace or diminish the role of harm reduction. In fact, it strengthens our collective approach by giving departments, providers, and contractors a clear policy framework." He read multiple amendments into the record that were developed with the San Francisco Marin Medical Society.

Adam Francis, senior advocacy and policy director for the San Francisco Marin Medical Society, told the committee the society represents more than 3,500 physicians and supported the amended ordinance. The city’s Office of the Mayor (statement relayed by Dorsey) was represented by a statement from Kunal Modi, head of Health, Homelessness and Family Services, who wrote in part: "Every day, 2 people are dying of drug overdose in San Francisco. The city's approach has not been working ... By focusing on pathways to treatment that aim to truly break cycles of addiction while taking aim at cycles of government failure, we can do more than encourage recovery. We can achieve it." The committee also heard extensive public comment from people representing recovery programs, harm‑reduction providers, health professionals and community residents; speakers expressed a range of views on abstinence‑based treatment, harm reduction and housing.

Among the amendments Dorsey read into the record were changes to the short and long titles to emphasize a "Substance Use Disorder Treatment Policy," an explicit definition of "remission" as "the overcoming of the illness of substance use disorder to the point of living a self directed and healthy life, free from illicit drug use," and an updated definition of "recovery" that lists medication‑assisted treatment, contingency management, outpatient or residential programs, and other participant‑determined programs as possible pathways. The ordinance as amended states that "long term remission of substance use disorders for individuals, with the help of fully supported and staffed evidence‑based recovery and behavioral health services, shall be the primary goal of the city's substance use disorder treatment policy."

The committee first voted to accept the read amendments and then voted to forward the amended ordinance to the full Board with a positive recommendation. The clerk recorded aye votes from Vice Chair Bilal Mahmood, Member Danny Sauter and Chair Matt Dorsey on both motions.

The vote sends the amended ordinance to the Board of Supervisors for consideration; the committee record will be part of the file when the Board takes up the item.