Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, flanked by Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, announced a 90-day state of emergency for Portland over fentanyl. The declaration came three years after Oregon became the first state to decriminalize drug use under Measure 110, passed in 2020.
“Our country and our state have never seen a drug this deadly addictive, and all are grappling with how to respond,” Kotek said.
The order sets up a command center in central Portland. State, county and city staff will work from it, pooling existing resources and pointing them at the crisis. The center is also meant to gather data on fentanyl’s effects, find gaps in services and keep the three governments coordinated after the 90 days end. Kotek said a system to track and coordinate existing resources for people affected by fentanyl “should be completed in not more than 90 days.”
Who is in charge
Mike Myers, director of Portland’s Community Safety Division, will head the city’s command team. Nathan Reynolds, deputy policy chief at the state’s Office of Resilience and Emergency Management, will serve as the state’s incident commander.
Fentanyl users who come into contact with first responders in downtown Portland during the 90 days will be triaged by the center. Staff can offer a bed in a treatment center or a meeting with a behavioral health clinician, who can also help with registering for food stamps. The Portland Police Bureau’s partnership with Oregon State Police continues, with joint patrols downtown aimed at fentanyl sales. The county will expand outreach and training in using Narcan, an overdose-reversal drug, and information campaigns on prevention and recovery will start across the region.
Wheeler said the value of “bringing leaders from different disciplines in a room on a daily basis” should not be underestimated. The effort sets no goals for measuring success. Kotek said the next 90 days will provide a road map for the next steps, and the declaration follows a recommendation from a governor-appointed task force that met for several months last year on revitalizing downtown Portland.
Measure 110 under scrutiny
Opioid deaths in Oregon rose from 280, before decriminalization was approved, to 955 in 2022, according to the Daily Mail’s account of state figures. Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton said: “We’ve had three years of this law that has not delivered on the promise that voters thought they were getting.” Lawmakers have introduced a bill to undo a key part of the law.
Harm reduction and recovery advocates backed the emergency order. Haven Wheelock of the nonprofit Outside In and Jesse Cornett of Oregon Recovers both spoke of the need for immediate fixes, including a sobering center. Police, they said, currently have nowhere adequate to take people in crisis.
Sources
- Australian National Review – Oregon governor declares state of emergency in Portland over fentanyl crisis
- Dem-led Portland declares state of emergency over fentanyl crisis
