Combating the Oregon drug problem (cost, law, housing)

[Cida]

I hadn't realized it had reached this point.


A Drug-Decriminalization Fight Erupts in Oregon
An ambitious law set forth a more humane way to address addiction. Then came the backlash.
In 2020, Oregon had the second-highest rate of drug addiction in the country, yet it ranked nearly last in access to treatment.
From 2019 to 2020, opioid-overdose deaths in Oregon increased nearly seventy per cent, and they have continued to rise.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2...-war-in-oregon

[ormari]

Friends and family decry the terrible drug situation in Oregon.

In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed is promising drug testing for welfare recipients. I wonder if Oregon is up for something like that for those on welfare, including for Public housing assistance.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by Cida

I hadn't realized it had reached this point.


A Drug-Decriminalization Fight Erupts in Oregon
An ambitious law set forth a more humane way to address addiction. Then came the backlash.
In 2020, Oregon had the second-highest rate of drug addiction in the country, yet it ranked nearly last in access to treatment.
From 2019 to 2020, opioid-overdose deaths in Oregon increased nearly seventy per cent, and they have continued to rise.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2...-war-in-oregon

The legislature just corrected the passing of this law in the recent short session.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by ormari

Friends and family decry the terrible drug situation in Oregon.

In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed is promising drug testing for welfare recipients. I wonder if Oregon is up for something like that for those on welfare, including for Public housing assistance.

No sense in dumping more drugs addicts onto the streets; probably cost us more in the long run than subsidizing their rent.

[ormari]

There’s an article in the Free Press today about the growing awareness of the failure of “harm reduction” policies for drug addicts. The article focuses on Philly, but tangentially addresses Oregon.

Originally Posted by “by Olivia Reingold of The Free Press”

In early March, Oregon became the first state in the nation to both decriminalize and then recriminalize hard drugs after voters realized the level of chaos they’d unleashed by making possession of small amounts of heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine a civil matter in November 2020.

The story pins the beginnings of “harm reduction” on needle exchanges started in the early days of AIDS.

Originally Posted by “by Olivia Reingold of The Free Press”

At that time, Michael Shellenberger, a former harm reduction advocate, was in the streets of San Francisco, demanding free needles for heroin users. He says these programs, which he convinced progressives like Rep. Maxine Waters to support, seemed like “very logical” interventions to stop the spread of HIV.

But then he watched with horror as what first seemed like a “minor” part of treating addiction suddenly became “the whole thing.”

“Progressives have basically turned harm reduction into mass enablement of addiction,” he tells me. “And we can see the consequences.”

Full story is here:

Addiction Activists Say They’re ‘Reducing Harm‘ in Philly. Locals Say They’re Causing It

[Silverfall]

I think part of the harm reduction strategies is that they assume that the issue with addicts is trust. That once you build that relationship they will get into treatment. What they don't understand is that the cheap black tar heroin coming out of Mexico and opiates are insanely powerful drugs. Being nice just won't overcome that physical power those drugs have over someone's body.

Oregonians thought they were doing right by addicts, realized their mistake, and self-corrected.