Authorities seize enough fentanyl to kill three times San Francisco population, Newsom says

California Highway Patrol (CHP) has captured enough fentanyl in San Francisco in the last six weeks to kill 2.1 million people, nearly three times the total population of the city, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced Thursday.

Police seized 4.1 kilograms of fentanyl in and around the Tenderloin neighborhood of the city. The fatal dose of fentanyl is 2 milligrams, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

“I’m proud of the CHP and CalGuard’s lifesaving efforts to shut down the Tenderloin’s poison pipeline and hold drug traffickers accountable,” Newsom said in a statement. “These early results show promise and serve as a call to action: we must do more to clean up San Francisco’s streets, help those struggling with substance use, and eradicate fentanyl from our neighborhoods.”

The drug seizures are part of a new initiative by the CHP and City of San Francisco to increase public safety. Authorities also seized nearly a kilogram of methamphetamine and more than 300 grams of cocaine during enforcement activities.

Since May 1, 92 arrests were made related to the drug seizures, Newsom’s office said. California spent a record $1 billion on drug enforcement efforts last year.

About 12,000 Californians died of drug overdoses in 2022, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, the most of any state.