The latest attempt to stem San Francisco's deadly drug crisis would pay addicts on welfare an additional $100 a month to stay clean.
City Supervisor Matt Dorsey said Monday that he planned to introduce legislation to create the "Cash Not Drugs" program, and a hearing on the measure could be held in September, local TV station KTVU reported.
The move came as the city's death toll from accidental overdoses reached 374 at the end of June, according to data compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle.
"The underlying principle to 'Cash Not Drugs' is a simple one: A humane and effective approach to San Francisco's drug crisis should also include rewarding good behavior — and not just punishing bad behavior," Dorsey said during a news conference on the steps of City Hall.
Dorsey, a recovering alcoholic and addict, was surrounded by people holding green signs that said "Cash Not Drugs."
Mayor London Breed spoke in support of Dorsey's proposal, saying that she "lost my sister to a drug overdose."
"I want to make it just as easy to get treatment as it is to go out there and buy dope," Breed said. "Whatever it takes to get people on the right path — that's what we need to do."
Breed, who's seeking reelection in November, also said the city had failed to focus on "abstinence-based solutions" to its notorious drug problem before she took office, according to the Chronicle.
In March, San Francisco voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition F, which requires people receiving cash benefits through the County Adult Assistance Program to undergo treatment if screening determines that they're using drugs.
But the law, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, won't require mandatory drug testing and will instead rely on the answers to a 10-question survey, the KFF Health News website reported in May.
Last year, most CAAP recipients living in homes received $712 a month, while homeless recipients got access to shelter, food and up to $109 a month, according to the city government.
