Friend, this week Oregon Governor Tina Kotek announced recommendations for taking on challenges such as addiction, homelessness, and other public suffering that many people are rightfully concerned about in the city of Portland.
The recommendations for more investment in capacity, outreach, and services for people struggling with addiction and homelessness and enhancing resources to address the fentanyl and overdose crisis are a promising step forward. However, the calls to roll back Measure 110, criminalize public drug use, and expand police presence are deeply concerning and will undermine any effort to support people in crisis.
Over the last few months in Oregon, special interest groups and some elected leaders have been blaming Measure 110 for nearly every social issue. They have issued misguided calls to repeal the law, recriminalize drugs, and mandate treatment: all of which equal a return to the failed drug war. It’s politically easier to do this than create the lasting change that is urgently needed.
We share deep frustration for the continuous suffering we’re seeing in places across the country, from Portland to San Francisco and beyond. When people struggling don't have rapid access and connection to care, and some elected leaders call upon the failed approach of criminalization to just cycle people in and out of jail, our neighbors will continue to suffer on the street. Our focus needs to be on building a full system of care that people can easily access so that when our neighbors struggle, they can get help quickly and compassionately.
Learn more in our toolkit about how we can replace criminalization with health-centered approaches that allow all of us to thrive.
Criminalization of drugs is a false promise of change. More than 50 years of evidence shows it doesn’t work and causes harm because it:
- increases overdose risk,
- increases racial disparities in the criminal legal system,
- disrupts treatment for those who seek it, and
- saddles people with criminal records that will serve as barriers to housing, employment, education, and other services for the rest of their lives.
Public drug use is a concern. To really address it, it’s important to understand why it exists. It is the result of homelessness and people not having a place to go or not having the help they need. This is a symptom of an unmet need for support and housing.
That’s why it’s deeply disappointing to see some elected officials increase public suffering by doubling down on the false promise of criminalization and forced treatment. That doesn’t address homelessness. In fact, those punitive responses have long played a contributing role to what we are experiencing on the streets by blocking job and housing opportunities and placing additional barriers in people’s way.
We cannot arrest or punish our way out of this problem. The data is clear that we need to centralize responses and build a full system of care for people on the streets that:
- increases street outreach,
- creates community-led crisis response teams,
- increases access to evidence-based treatment and addiction services,
- and allows overdose prevention centers which brings drug use indoors and allows for connections to care.
Instead of wasting time rehashing failed drug policies and scapegoating people who are most in need, lawmakers must be held accountable to make meaningful change.
Your support is needed more than ever in this moment when humane solutions are under attack. We will continue to hold the line by demanding investment in solutions that will actually help people, keep communities safer, and ensure everyone has a high quality of life with access to the services and support they need.
