A victim of their own circumstance? Yes. Just four years after decriminalizing most hard drugs, Oregon lawmakers have declared a 90-day state of emergency in the state’s largest city to combat widespread, open-air fentanyl use.
It’s not clear what the expected result was when the state was decriminalizing these deadly substances.
Portland officials will establish a cross-agency “command center” in the heart of downtown as part of an executive order issued Tuesday by Gov. Tina Kotek, who stated that the crisis was causing “economic and reputational harm” to residents, businesses, and visitors.
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“Our country and our state have never seen a drug this deadly addictive, and all are grappling with how to respond,” the governor said in a statement referencing fentanyl.
The move comes nearly four years after Oregon passed a landmark bill decriminalizing the use of most hard drugs, including fentanyl.
Measure 110 made personal, non-commercial possession a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum fine of $100, and it established treatment and recovery programs funded in part by the state’s marijuana tax.
At the time, the measure was hailed as a watershed moment in using the law to reclassify drug addiction as a health problem rather than a crime.
The law requires police to refer drug users for treatment rather than arrest them. However, according to the New York Times, many users ignore the referral.
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The emergency declaration is part of Gov. Kotek’s broader plan to reduce crime and public drug use in Portland, which has struggled to recover from the pandemic.
Major retailers such as REI have closed, and hundreds of people die each year on the city’s sidewalks and in tent encampments, according to the Times.
“Our country and our state have never seen a drug this deadly addictive, and we are all grappling with how to respond,” the governor said, referring specifically to fentanyl.
The latest initiative follows the introduction of a new state bill that would effectively recriminalize certain drug possession and use. If passed, it would establish a new class C misdemeanor for drug possession, with a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail and a $1,250 fine.
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The bill would also allow police to seize illegal narcotics and address the widespread use of drugs in public places, which has plagued cities such as Portland.
“Officers are seeing things on the streets that they don’t feel like they have the tools to intervene on,” Rep. Jason Kropf, D-Bend, co-chair of the joint committee, recently told the Oregon Capital Chronicle.
Opioid overdoses in Oregon increased from 738 in 2021, the first year Measure 110 was in effect, to 956 the following year, according to state data reported by the Times.
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