KOIN.com

KOIN 6 Town Hall: A State of Pain, Oregon’s drug crisis

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — There is a killer sweeping across Oregon. Fentanyl is flooding across the state, bringing death, destroying families and leaving first responders overwhelmed.

An hour-long KOIN 6 Town Hall looks at the problems stemming from drugs like fentanyl and meth, leading to homelessness, crime and other issues.

Among the panelists on the KOIN 6 Town Hall are Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, Portland City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez, Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran, Portland Police Association president Aaron Schmautz, restaurateur Lisa Schroeder and various members of the community affected by illegal drugs.

While fentanyl is a new threat, Oregon continues to drown in methamphetamine and a new, more potent meth that devastates lives, fuels an already out-of-control homeless problem, fills hospitals and jails to the breaking point and is a driving force behind a stunning rise in crime and vandalism.

Oregon ranks highest in the nation for illicit drug use — and dead last in access to drug treatment. It’s the main reason voters passed Measure 110.

Measure 110 decriminalized certain amounts of drugs for personal use with the promise of addiction treatment. But critics maintain it’s not working and is only throwing gasoline on an already out-of-control problem. Supporters maintain it needs more time to work.

Those are the issues to be explored in a KOIN 6 Town Hall: A State of Pain, Oregon’s Drug Crisis.