San Francisco is using private donations to deliver alcohol, tobacco and medical marijuana to homeless addicts staying in city-leased hotels during the coronavirus pandemic.
As of Wednesday there are about 270 people, mostly homeless, staying in hotel rooms to recover from COVID-19 or to wait out possible exposure to the virus.
So far, 11 people have received alcohol, 27 have received tobacco and five have received medical marijuana, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
City officials said that private donations pay for the items, and that helping manage nicotine, opioid and alcohol cravings ensures that recovering people don't go out and possibly infect others.
Dr Grant Colfax, San Francisco's public health director, said the harm-reduction approach is widespread and based on decades of sound public health policy.
'Our focus needs to be on supporting them,' he said of the people who are isolating or under quarantine.
For people experiencing alcohol withdrawal, the Department of Public Health calculates the minimum amount needed and delivers them with meals.
The department also facilitates delivery of methadone medication for people trying to kick heroin. It does not help procure recreational marijuana.
Reports of the program first emerged last week when Thomas Wolf, a case manager who works with addicts in San Francisco, mentioned it in a tweet to the city.
'I just found out that homeless placed in hotels in SF are being delivered Alcohol, Weed and Methadone because they identified as an addict/alcoholic for FREE,' he wrote.
'You're supposed to be offering treatment. This is enabling and is wrong on many levels. @SF_DPH @sfbos @LondonBreed.'
The San Francisco Department of Public Health confirmed the report on Twitter Wednesday.
'These harm reduction based practices, which are not unique to San Francisco, and are not paid for with taxpayer money, help guests successfully complete isolation and quarantine and have significant individual and public health benefits in the COVID-19 pandemic,' it wrote.
San Francisco officials on Wednesday confirmed that the city is using private donations to provide items to help addicts manage nicotine, opioid and alcohol cravings while in isolation.
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