Oregon leaders joined forces to declare a 90-day state of emergency in downtown Portland, funneling resources into fighting the city’s deadly fentanyl crisis. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler each made an emergency declaration to address the public health and public safety crisis in Portland’s Central City, citing overdoses, deaths and fear driven by fentanyl use, according to a Tuesday press release. “Our country and our state have never seen a drug this deadly and addictive, and all are grappling with how to respond,” Kotek said in the release. Oregon voters passed Measure 110 in 2020, which decriminalized some use of hard-drugs, including fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid. The measure has received criticism, as opioid overdose deaths steadily climbed since. - https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/31/us/fentanyl-crisis-portland-state-of-emergency/index.html#:~:text=Oregon%20leaders%20joined%20forces%20to,the%20city's%20deadly%20fentanyl%20crisis.
