Mayor Lurie Signs Supervisor Dorsey's Recovery First Legislation, Building on Work to Tackle Behavioral Health and Homelessness Crisis

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today signed new “Recovery First” legislation, another step in his administration’s work to support San Franciscans in recovery and tackle the city’s behavioral health and homelessness crisis. Sponsored by District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, the legislation enshrines long-term remission through recovery as San Francisco’s primary substance use disorder policy goal.

Under his Breaking the Cycle plan, Mayor Lurie is transforming the city’s response to the homelessness and behavioral health crisis. Under his Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance, passed 10-1 by the Board of Supervisors in February, the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) are working together to add interim housing and treatment options for those exiting homelessness and those recovering from addiction, including a new sober living site for people exiting homelessness who wish to live in a drug free environment. Earlier this month, Mayor Lurie launched the Breaking the Cycle fund with $37.5 million in private funding to support this work, building on his integrated neighborhood-based model for the city’s street outreach teams, the opening of a 24/7 police-friendly stabilization center, a significant expansion of recovery and treatment beds, and the introduction of new policies to connect people to treatment.

“Today we marked a major step forward in the belief that recovery is possible,” said Mayor Lurie. “Since day one, our administration has been working to reshape how the city addresses homelessness, mental health, and addiction. This ordinance reflects what we would want for our loved ones, if they were, or if they are, struggling. Thank you, Supervisor Dorsey, our partners in public health and public safety, and to the recovery community that is fighting to build a safer, healthier, and more hopeful city for everyone.”

“By enacting ‘Recovery First’ into law, San Francisco is finally aligning our drug policy goal with what any of us would wish for a loved one struggling with addiction—a self-directed and healthy life, free from illicit drug use,” said Supervisor Dorsey, who has publicly acknowledged his own journey in recovery from drug addiction as a motivating factor in his policy agenda. “I’m grateful to Mayor Lurie for supporting this legislation and for the bold leadership he has demonstrated from the very start of his mayoralty to center long-term recovery in our city’s response to homelessness and addiction. Likewise, I’m thankful to my colleagues and so many others from the recovery community, labor, academia, and the medical profession for their partnership to enshrine an aspirational drug policy worthy of the City of Saint Francis.”

“Just as we aim for the best possible outcome for San Franciscans who experience less stigmatized disorders like cancer and heart disease, we should also aim for full recovery for those who experience addiction,” said Keith Humphreys, Ph.D., Esther Ting Memorial Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University and former Senior White House Drug Policy Advisor in the Obama administration. “I support the ‘Recovery First’ legislation because it would provide an important and necessary north star for drug policy in San Francisco, which reflects compassionate optimism about the potential and dignity of every person who experiences addiction while simultaneously assuring the city’s taxpayers that the resources they provide are being wisely employed.”

“The San Francisco Marin Medical Society is pleased to support Supervisor Dorsey’s measure to create an aspirational goal of long-term remission for individuals battling substance use disorder,” said Jason Nau, M.D., President of the San Francisco Marin Medical Society. “Recovery is often a non-linear process of self-actualization where harm reduction efforts, abstinence, and treatment are not in opposition with one another or mutually exclusive. If properly provided, they are all complementary components of optimal substance use disorder systems. What gets lost in this debate is that the biggest obstacle to recovery and remission facing San Franciscans with substance use disorder is the severe lack of facilities and staff necessary to provide robust behavioral health services, without which none of these strategies will be effective.”

“For too long, a ‘harm reduction-first’ approach has shaped San Francisco’s drug policy and addiction response, yet our city’s drug and overdose crisis continues to spiral out of control,” said Steve Adami, Executive Director of the Way Out. “It’s time for a bold shift, one that puts recovery at the heart of our response. By prioritizing long-term recovery—free of illicit drugs—expanding access to treatment, and creating real pathways to sobriety and independence, we can offer people more than survival, we can help them rebuild their lives. It’s time to invest in solutions that help people overcome addiction, not perpetuate it. Supervisor Dorsey’s ‘Recovery First’ ordinance marks a pivotal moment for San Francisco by making recovery the foundation of our city’s drug policy.”

“Without a clearly defined goal, even the most well-intentioned services can lose direction—and that’s exactly what’s happened with San Francisco’s drug policy,” said Cedric Akbar, Behavioral Health Specialist and Program Director at Positive Directions Equals Change. “The ‘Recovery First’ ordinance offers a clear and humane path forward. It centers long-term drug-free living as the primary goal, and that’s the kind of leadership and accountability our city urgently needs.”