SAN FRANCISCO — The sharp stench of days-old urine mixed with filth and feces has become an all too familiar smell in the Golden Gate City.
So is the sight of zombielike adults, weaving on and off the sidewalks and onto the street, too blitzed on mind-bending substances and booze to realize they are just seconds away from being hit by a car. Loud horns being honked by irritated drivers send momentary shocks to the system, but just seconds later, their glassy-eyed confusion, drooling, and gibberish return.
Then there’s fentanyl, the cheap street drug that doesn’t discriminate.
It’s 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin. Even a tiny quantity can kill. The fentanyl addicts are easy to spot in San Francisco, where an average of two die per day on the synthetic opioid. These men and women either have needles sticking out of their arms or are bent over on th …