Supervisor Dorsey introduces "San Francisco recovers" plan; public testimony urges decriminalizing entheogenic plants

Supervisor Matt Dorsey on Sept. 6 introduced a resolution requesting city departments and commissions to craft a coordinated, sustained plan to reduce drug-related harms, prevent overdose deaths and curb open-air drug markets. The resolution, called "San Francisco recovers," asks for a comprehensive approach encompassing public health, criminal justice, recovery programs, housing-based sober supports and enhanced transparency.

Dorsey said the proposal begins with interagency collaboration and accountability and pointed to potential funding from opioid-litigation proceeds. He credited City Attorney David Chiu's office for securing litigation funds that the city expects to funnel toward abatement and recovery efforts; Dorsey said San Francisco will have "more than a hundred million dollars in funding over the next several years" for drug abatement purposes and urged the city to maximize that resource.

At the public-comment portion of the meeting, many speakers urged supervisors to back a separate local initiative to decriminalize entheogenic plant medicines and fungi. Community members, providers and national advocates described personal and clinical experience with psychedelic-assisted approaches and urged passage of resolution 25 (introduced by supervisors Preston and Ronan) to decriminalize possession, cultivation and community use practices for certain ancestral plant medicines.

Speakers who testified in favor included James McConkey, a District 5 resident and PTA member; Mary Anne, a college student; Nico Summers, a herbalist and plant-medicine practitioner; Jacqueline Dwayne, who spoke about mental-health benefits; Carlos Plasola and Dr. Larry Norris, both leaders with Decriminalize Nature and related organizations; and criminal defense attorney Jenny Stepanian, who described client cases and treatment pathways. Several callers and in-person speakers urged the board to take action that would allow community-based, noncommercial access and to preserve ancestral use.

The Dorsey resolution was introduced for consideration (no final action was recorded at the Sept. 6 meeting). Public testimony on entheogens occurred during general public comment; the transcript records broad community support but does not show a formal vote on the decriminalization resolution during this session.