Crisis in the Northwest: ‘Killing the mentally ill for a dollar a pill’
Three years ago, Oregon did away with criminal sanctions for drug possession. But after a surge in overdoses and open-air use, the state is poised to re-criminalize drugs.
People caught with drugs in Portland, Oregon, between 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. and on weekends may be arrested and taken to jail starting next week, according to police.
It's a temporary solution as Multnomah County works to get a deflection center up and running to offer people suspected of low-level drug possession the option of treatment over jail once drugs become recriminalized on Sept. 1, The Oregonian reported Monday.
Oregon pioneered the nation's first drug decriminalization law, which took effect in early 2021. But soaring overdose deaths and rampant public drug use quickly turned voters against the measure, numerous polls showed.
A man smokes on the sidewalk in Portland, Oregon, on Jan. 10, 2024. The northwest state is set to recriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs on Sept. 1, giving suspects the choice between participating in a deflection program or going to jail for up to six months. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)
This spring, Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek signed a bill creating a new misdemeanor drug possession charge and giving those caught with small amounts of substances like meth and fentanyl a choice: undergo treatment or go to jail for up to six months. Treatment includes a behavioral health screening and participation in state-funded deflection programs.
But a shortage of nurses has delayed the opening of Multnomah County's deflection center until at least mid-October, local outlets previously reported.
The county will instead deploy mobile outreach specialists, alongside police, to refer those caught with drugs to services. Those peer specialists are only on duty from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the week, though, The Oregonian reported.
"People who are contacted outside those hours, my direction is going to be that they’ll be taken to jail," Portland Police Chief Bob Day said at a public safety meeting Monday, the outlet reported.
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Multnomah County Circuit Judge Michael Greenlick expressed concerns about the different consequences for people after hours, calling it "very problematic from just a basic equal protection or fairness standpoint."
"You happen to have an interaction at 8:05 (p.m.), you’re brought into the court system," Greenlick said at the meeting, according to The Oregonian. "But if it’s at 7:55 (p.m.), then you’re out for deflection."
The police bureau, which has struggled with staffing levels and slow response times to service calls, is also trying to figure out how long to wait for the peer specialists to arrive during weekdays.
"We’re having discussions about what’s a reasonable amount of time to wait, not only on behalf of officers, but also based on behalf of the individuals and case law, like, how long can we stand there with somebody in handcuffs or in the backseat of a police car waiting for behavioral health specialists to show up?" Day said at the meeting.
A woman sits inside her tent alongside syringes, a pipe, foil and other drug paraphernalia in Portland, Oregon, in July 2023. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)
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Overdose deaths in Oregon surged from 800 in 2020 to about 1,400 in 2022, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Decriminalization advocates point out that fatal overdoses surged across the country beginning in early 2020, not just in Oregon, with many analysts attributing the spike to isolation and despair during the coronavirus pandemic.
Nationwide, overdose deaths fell last year, according to CDC data. But as most of the country saw a slight reprieve, Oregon, Washington and Alaska all experienced a nearly 30% increase.
The overwhelming majority of fatal overdoses are now attributed to fentanyl, according to Oregon health data.
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