[137 / 1 / 37]
Oregon proves ones again that progressive drug policies cause more harm than good.
In 2020 they passed the most liberal drug laws in the country. Fast forward 4 years, and with open drug use on every corner and rampant homelessness and drug death, the state wants off this wild ride.
Democrats continue to struggle with the effects of their disastrous policies.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/hard-hit-by-us-opioid-crisis-oregon-reconsiders-decriminalization-2024-02-18/
Hard hit by the US opioid crisis, Oregon reconsiders decriminalization
PORTLAND, Oregon, Feb 18 (Reuters) - It's a common sight on the streets of downtown Portland, Oregon: people in front of stores, trendy restaurants and hotels, on sidewalks, corners, and benches, crouched over torch lighters held up to sheets of tinfoil or meth pipes.
Some drape blankets over their heads, or duck behind concrete barriers. Others don’t try to hide.
"All summer long, we were right out in the open. You didn't have to be paranoid anymore, you didn't have to be worried about the cops," said John Hood, a 61-year-old drug addict living on the streets of Oregon’s most populous city.
Hood spoke to Reuters on a downtown Portland corner, across from where he had just smoked fentanyl and methamphetamine outside an old bus station-turned homeless shelter.
"It was like smoking cigarettes. You just did it, and you didn’t have to worry about it. Now they’re cracking back down. They’re wanting to make it illegal."
Oregonians in 2020 passed a ballot measure, opens new tab that created the most liberal drug law in the country, decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs and funneling hundreds of millions of dollars in cannabis taxes to addiction recovery services.
What's known as Measure 110 was touted as a revolutionary approach, treating addiction as a public health matter, not a crime. The skepticism around it comes as cities across America are seeking solutions for a drug crisis.
In 2020 they passed the most liberal drug laws in the country. Fast forward 4 years, and with open drug use on every corner and rampant homelessness and drug death, the state wants off this wild ride.
Democrats continue to struggle with the effects of their disastrous policies.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/hard-hit-by-us-opioid-crisis-oregon-reconsiders-decriminalization-2024-02-18/
Hard hit by the US opioid crisis, Oregon reconsiders decriminalization
PORTLAND, Oregon, Feb 18 (Reuters) - It's a common sight on the streets of downtown Portland, Oregon: people in front of stores, trendy restaurants and hotels, on sidewalks, corners, and benches, crouched over torch lighters held up to sheets of tinfoil or meth pipes.
Some drape blankets over their heads, or duck behind concrete barriers. Others don’t try to hide.
"All summer long, we were right out in the open. You didn't have to be paranoid anymore, you didn't have to be worried about the cops," said John Hood, a 61-year-old drug addict living on the streets of Oregon’s most populous city.
Hood spoke to Reuters on a downtown Portland corner, across from where he had just smoked fentanyl and methamphetamine outside an old bus station-turned homeless shelter.
"It was like smoking cigarettes. You just did it, and you didn’t have to worry about it. Now they’re cracking back down. They’re wanting to make it illegal."
Oregonians in 2020 passed a ballot measure, opens new tab that created the most liberal drug law in the country, decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs and funneling hundreds of millions of dollars in cannabis taxes to addiction recovery services.
What's known as Measure 110 was touted as a revolutionary approach, treating addiction as a public health matter, not a crime. The skepticism around it comes as cities across America are seeking solutions for a drug crisis.
