Three years after Oregon voted to decriminalize drug crimes, residents are now calling for their decision to be reversed after seeing a staggering number of deaths from opioid overdoses.
In 2020, Oregon voters approved a measure to decriminalize possession of all drugs, including heroin and cocaine. The proposal, known as Oregon Ballot Measure 110, passed with 58.8 percent support.
Now residents of the liberal state are calling on their politicians to do something about the open-air drug markets their cities have turned into.
Opioid deaths in Oregon have risen from 280, before decriminalization was passed, to a whopping 955 deaths in 2022.
The number of opioid-related deaths in Oregon has more than tripled — while national reports have doubled, indicating that the West Coast state is facing a much more serious battle with drugs.
Opioid deaths in Oregon have risen from 280, before decriminalization was passed, to a whopping 955 deaths in 2022.
Three years after Oregon voted to decriminalize drug crimes, residents are now begging for their decision to be reversed after seeing a staggering number of deaths from opioid overdoses (Photo: A man holding a glass pipe in Portland)
In 2020, Oregon voters approved a measure to decriminalize possession of all drugs, including heroin and cocaine. The proposal, known as Oregon Ballot Measure 110, passed with 58.8 percent support (Photo: Portland drug paraphernalia)
Oregon’s opioid-related deaths have more than tripled — while national reports have doubled, indicating the West Coast state is facing a much more serious battle with drugs (Photo: A scene in Portland)
“This breaks my heart,” Michael Bock, a private security guard in Portland, countered Fox.
Bock—who has a boots on ground perspective on the crisis in Oregon—claims that people struggling with addiction are neglected and pushed aside.
“We are talking about loss of life and we have to do something different, this is serious,” Bock said.
The guard said he went from performing zero drug overdose revivals to bringing many people back to life every day.
Fox reported that of the 6,000 drug possession citations since the law went into effect, only 92 have proceeded to assess and connect those people with services to combat their drug use.
In Eugene, Oregon, overdose calls increased from 438 in 2020 to 823 in 2022 – and there have already been 858 calls in the city so far this year.
Under the measures that came into effect on February 1, 2021, a person found with hard drugs in their possession has the option to pay a $100 fine or visit new “addiction recovery centers” instead of going to court appear and face a possible prison sentence.
Oregon’s opioid-related deaths have more than tripled — while national reports have doubled, indicating the west coast state is facing a much more serious battle with drugs (Photo: Portland)
Of the 6,000 citations issued for drug possession in Oregon since the law went into effect, only 92 have proceeded to assess and connect those people with services to combat their drug use
The liberal city of Portland was once vibrant and thriving, but, like many other cities, has turned into a tent-covered abyss with rising crime, endemic drug abuse and maniacal behavior.
Three years later, even a Portland drug user known as “Utah” told Ny Breaking.com that Measure 110 made things worse in the city.
“It’s made it worse. Don’t get me wrong, it makes it better for me, but getting the cops off of us and giving us free pipes and foil to do our drugs isn’t going to get us off the streets.”
Utah estimates that 20 percent of the city’s homeless population of 5,000 want to address their addiction, but says that’s difficult now that the city has turned into what the New York Times called a “drug user’s paradise.”
The liberal city of Portland was once vibrant and thriving, but, like many other cities, has turned into a tent-covered abyss with rising crime, endemic drug abuse and maniacal behavior.
Locals complain of having to step over used needles, broken glass pipes and human feces on their way to work, and say they have even become accustomed to blood-curdling screams from deranged addicts.
Polls show a majority of Portland’s 635,000 residents want to restore criminal penalties for drug possession, believing Measure 110 has actually worsened the city’s addiction, crime and homelessness problems.
Ted Wheeler, the Democratic mayor of Portland, has admitted that his city’s substance abuse problems have “exploded to deadly and disastrous proportions.”