In a unanimous decision on Wednesday, the Portland City Council voted to outlaw the public use of hard drugs, including fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine.
However, the implementation of this new emergency ordinance, which could result in a six-month jail term or a $500 fine for violators, is contingent upon a revision of the existing state law, as reported by the Oregonian.
The current state law, enacted by Measure 110, the Drug Addiction and Recovery Act, in 2020, decriminalizes the possession of small quantities of hard drugs and redirects marijuana taxes towards funding overdose prevention and recovery housing. This law restricts cities and municipalities from regulating public drug use.
A recent survey conducted by DHM Research in April revealed that 60% of voters believe that Measure 110 has exacerbated drug addiction, homelessness, and crime. Moreover, 63% of the respondents supported the reintroduction of criminal penalties for drug possession.
"These are necessary, common-sense steps to disrupt debilitating drug use on the streets of Portland that does deep damage to our citys livability, overwhelms our emergency response system, and destroys lives," stated Commissioner Rene Gonzalez.
However, the city council's measure has also been met with criticism. Lauren Armony, the program director for the social services nonprofit Sisters of the Road, accused the city council of specifically targeting drug users without sufficient private property. "This prohibition will marginalize substance users into unregulated and unsafe environments," Armony argued.
Tony Vezina of 4D Recovery Services expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the measure, stating, "It may just kind of hide addicts. I was an addict; I was on the street before; I had to hide. It may create a limited intervention that is only applied to people we can see in downtown Portland smoking in front of businesses using fatal or high-addictive drugs."
In a bid to enforce the measure, the Portland City Council passed a resolution directing the citys Office of Government Relations to lobby lawmakers to amend state laws.
Opioid-related overdose deaths in Multnomah County, which encompasses Portland, have surged fivefold between 2018 and 2022, with fentanyl deaths reaching a record high of 209 last year.
Commissioner Mingus Mapps told KPTV, "What happens now is we have our lobbyists right over there, Sam Chase [the interim director of the Office of Government Relations] who will be talking to our colleagues down in Salem and to the governor, urging them to take this up in the short session. I believe this is a no-brainer that the legislature can knock out literally in an afternoon. Then once they do, that actually gives the city of Portland and every other city council across the state of Oregon the power to begin to regulate when or where people do hard drugs."
Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler, during Wednesdays council meeting, emphasized the worsening situation, stating, "The bottom line is this: Week by week the situation is getting worse. We have to focus with urgency to save lives and livelihoods."
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