FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 11, 2022
MEDIA CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office | PubDef-MediaRelations@sfgov.org; Jessie.Seyfer@sfgov.org | (415) 851-2212
**MEDIA ADVISORY**
TOMORROW: Drug Policy Experts and Treatment Providers to Give a Press Briefing on Evidence-based Treatment and Harm Reduction Strategies Needed to Address SF Public Health Crisis
Criminalizing the supply does nothing to abate the demand. Instead of bringing back the inhumane War on Drugs, public health experts discuss how San Francisco should invest in wraparound care
WHAT: A virtual press briefing co-hosted by the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, SF Aids Foundation, the Drug Policy Alliance, Code Tenderloin and HealthRIGHT 360. Drug policy and community-based practitioners will discuss the history of the war on drugs and its impact in helping to create the current substance use crisis. They also will describe and make recommendations with regard to practices for harm reduction and treatment that have been shown to be effective. Press attending may enter questions in the chat that may be addressed in a Q&A following the speakers’ session.
WHEN: Wednesday, October 12th, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
WHERE: Via Zoom. INTERESTED PRESS MUST EMAIL PUBDEF-MEDIARELATIONS@SFGOV.ORG TO GET THE ZOOM LINK.
WHO:
- Mano Raju, SF Public Defender (MC)
- Leo Beletsky, Associate Professor, UC San Diego School of Medicine
- Laura Thomas, Director of HIV and Harm Reduction Policy with SF AIDS Foundation,
- Del Seymour, Founder, Code Tenderloin
- Kara Simon Casey, Supervisor of Ambassadors, Code Tenderloin
- Vitka Eisen, President and CEO of HealthRIGHT 360
- Norma Palacios, Policy Coordinator with Drug Policy Alliance
- Maurice Byrd, LMFT, Director of Training, the Harm Reduction Therapy Center
**Press MUST email PubDef-MediaRelations@sfgov.org to obtain the Zoom link and submit questions via chat during the event. We also will be livestreaming to the public at facebook.com/sfpublicdefender/.
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