Portland, Oregon declares state of emergency over fentanyl crisis

Source: Wikimedia

State, county, and city leaders of Portland, Oregon jointly declared a 90-day state of emergency on Tuesday in an effort to funnel mass resources into fighting the worsening fentanyl crisis. State governor Tine Kotek said in her executive order that the crisis had caused Portland “economic and reputational harm,” a reference to the national association of the city with homelessness, rampant drug use, and failed policies like Measure 110. 

In 2021, Measure 110  made Oregon the first state to decriminalize hard drugs such as heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine in an attempt to rehabilitate people with addictions and lower the significant police resources inefficiently expended on drug users. Instead, it made drug use a public (and common) sight, and the citations that were meant to encourage people to call the rehab helpline were crumpled up and thrown in policemen’s faces. Between 2018 and 2022, Portland saw a 533% increase in fentanyl-related deaths. 

 The state of emergency will establish a temporary command center where “state, county and city employees will convene to coordinate strategies and response efforts.” In what the governor called “unprecedented collaboration and [use of] focused resources,” departments ranging from police forces to health services will now be required to provide personnel, technical assistance, and coordination. Measures announced include: an advertising campaign that promotes drug prevention and treatment, increased training in the administration of Narcan, an overdose-reversing drug, and an increased focus on finding fentanyl dealers.

Notably, the state of emergency does not allocate more funding to any departments. 
Declaring a state of emergency seems to be the final attempt for Oregon to combat the rising death toll and restore Portland’s declining economy.