Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2024 2:00:17 GMT -5
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) declared a state of emergency in Portland due to the dire increase in fentanyl overdoses just a few years after the state decriminalized drug use.
The progressive state became the first to decriminalize drug use when the legislature passed Measure 110 in 2020, aiming to focus on recovery over incarceration for addicts.
Nearly 60 percent of voters approved of the measure at the time, but newer polls have found that they regret that move just three years later.
Furthermore, no other states have followed Oregon’s lead in removing penalties for most drug crimes.
“Oregon has turned into an international spectacle and I think we looked at each other and realize that we made an enormous mistake,” Portland-based attorney Kristin Olson told Fox News.
“We’ve had three years of this law that has not delivered on the promise that voters thought they were getting,” Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton said to CBS News.
The state has seen a continuous increase in overdose deaths since the measure passed in 2020. In 2022, the levels soared to nearly 1,000 fatal drug overdoses.
The 90-day state of emergency order issued by Gov. Kotek and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler will “commit available resources to the unified response.
The progressive state became the first to decriminalize drug use when the legislature passed Measure 110 in 2020, aiming to focus on recovery over incarceration for addicts.
Nearly 60 percent of voters approved of the measure at the time, but newer polls have found that they regret that move just three years later.
Furthermore, no other states have followed Oregon’s lead in removing penalties for most drug crimes.
“Oregon has turned into an international spectacle and I think we looked at each other and realize that we made an enormous mistake,” Portland-based attorney Kristin Olson told Fox News.
“We’ve had three years of this law that has not delivered on the promise that voters thought they were getting,” Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton said to CBS News.
The state has seen a continuous increase in overdose deaths since the measure passed in 2020. In 2022, the levels soared to nearly 1,000 fatal drug overdoses.
The 90-day state of emergency order issued by Gov. Kotek and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler will “commit available resources to the unified response.
