Oregon leaders came together Tuesday to declare a 90-day state of emergency in Portland after fentanyl-related deaths skyrocketed in recent months, following a 2020 law the state enacted to decriminalize some hard drugs.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D), Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, and the city’s county chairwoman Jessica Vega Pederson announced that the Democrat-led city would be working with first responders to direct people addicted to synthetic opioids to a new emergency command center.
“Our country and our state have never seen a drug this deadly and addictive, and all are grappling with how to respond,” Kotek said in a press statement. “The Chair, the Mayor and I recognize the need to act with urgency and unity across our public health and community safety systems to make a dent in this crisis. We are all in this together. The next 90 days will yield unprecedented collaboration and focused resources targeting fentanyl and provide a roadmap for next steps.”
Portland Central City Task Force recommended the emergency declaration after announcing goals last year to revive the city. Portland will focus on providing public safety, addiction, and public health services as well as deploy other resources to help curb overdoses and supply treatment for those affected by fentanyl, according to the statement.
The new bill would criminalize hard drugs as a class A misdemeanor, offering people found in possession treatment services as an alternative to jail time. The legislation would also make jail sentences longer and make using drugs in public illegal.
The emergency declaration follows state GOP leaders’ recently proposed legislation, which garnered bipartisan support that would dismantle a drug law decriminalizing some small amounts of drugs.
Oregon’s opioid overdoses have tripled since the decriminalization law was enacted, with 280 opioid-related deaths occurring before 2020 and 956 in 2022, according to Oregon Health Authority statistics.
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When new legislation to crack down on the opioid problem was introduced, Democratic lawmakers agreed the state’s drug crisis needed immediate action but were concerned about making drugs entirely illegal; meanwhile, the state’s GOP claims that decriminalization efforts were not “compassionate.”
“Each day that this horrendous policy remains in place creates more opportunity for drug dealers to take advantage of vulnerable Oregonians,” House Republican Leader Jeff Helfrich said in a statement regarding the new drug law.
