San Francisco’s new Democratic mayor, Daniel Lurie, announced Wednesday that he is rolling back the city’s policy of freely distributing drug paraphernalia.

City leaders have pursued a harm reduction approach for decades, culminating in a recent program to provide clean foil, pipes, and plastic straws for drug users to smoke fentanyl or methamphetamines free of charge. Lurie told the New York Times he would be scaling back the program, which costs city taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

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“We’ve lost our way,” he said while touring the drug hot spot Tenderloin neighborhood. “We are no longer going to sit by and allow people to kill themselves on the streets.”

In a Wednesday post on X, Lurie lamented the previous approach of free access to drugs, arguing it failed in its aims.

“The status quo has failed to ensure the health and safety of our entire community, as well as those in the throes of addiction. Our new evidence-based policy will connect individuals to treatment quickly and help us reclaim our public spaces,” he said.

Lurie clarified he wasn’t ending the distribution of paraphernalia altogether but would implement strict conditions to receive it. Beginning April 30, smoking supplies and needles for injection will only be available to those who undergo extensive counseling sessions, attempting to direct them elsewhere. One proposed resolution is to provide a free bus ticket out of the city.

Many of the programs are provided through subsidized nonprofit groups. Beginning April 30, nonprofit groups can no longer hand out most paraphernalia with no questions asked. Smoking supplies can only be provided in government-sanctioned buildings, however clean needles can be provided on the street.

The rolling back of the program is one of Lurie’s first major moves to address the drug epidemic.

Lurie defeated incumbent London Breed on a platform of curbing crime and fentanyl use. He came into power on a wave of growing disillusionment with left-wing policies on drugs and crime that hurt other progressive cities such as Seattle.

Former heroin addict Cedric Akbar, who now runs a recovery program, told the New York Times the left-wing approach to drugs has been abused by nonprofit organizations. He reported seeing them handing out drug supplies without mentioning treatment or seeking details, likely supplying minors with drugs.

“This is ideology gone crazy,” he said, calling for a stronger crackdown.

Amber Miller, 39, a methamphetamine addict who uses nonprofit-supplied paraphernalia, said the previous approach has been worsening drug use.

“I feel trapped. This whole city makes you feel trapped,” she told the outlet. “You’re stagnant. You’re comfortable.”

SAN FRANCISCO HAS BECOME A NIGHTMARE

San Francisco is one of the cities most visibly devastated by fentanyl, with addicts littering the streets in areas such as the Tenderloin neighborhood. Drugs have killed 3,000 people in the city since 2020 — more than COVID-19, homicides, and car crashes combined.

The city’s approach to drugs, crime, and other problems has turned it into a favorite target for conservatives and moderates, who see it as a failed experiment.