A man stands handcuffed in a park while Hillsboro police cite him with a misdemeanor drug possession charge on Nov. 19, 2024. He was released with a citation and encouraged to enter recovery services. (Photo by Ben Botkin/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Oregonians are cautiously optimistic about the state’s new approach to helping people addicted to drugs, but they remain worried that people still struggle to access limited services for treatment, a Capital Chronicle survey and interviews show.
They’re especially worried about the deadly nature of fentanyl, which has washed over the state and caused overdoses to spike.
“Those of us who have worked in (substance use disorder) treatment – 30 years, for me – have not seen anything like the impacts of fentanyl with regards to what is needed in treatment once a person gets into services,” said Tina Bialas, director of Central City Concern’s Letty Owings Center, which helps Portland-area women in recovery.
She was among more than 100 people who provided perspectives on drug addiction and the state’s deflection programs as part of our series, “Moving beyond addiction.” Oregonians from 18 of the state’s 36 counties, from the coast to Portland and eastern Oregon, responded to our questions.
The Capital Chronicle surveyed people through our website, newsletter and through social media from August 2024 to January 1. Eighty-three responded, and they reflect a wide range of people with a deep bench of experience in addiction, and often personal. The group includes people who are in recovery, people who work in the field and those with loved ones on drugs. Four people who responded have lost friends or family to addiction. Sixty-one percent said they have a friend or family member addicted to drugs.
The Capital Chronicle, in collaboration with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, also held listening sessions with treatment providers and at Recovery Outreach Community Center, a gathering place in Salem for people to socialize and encourage one another on their journeys out of addiction. And a reporter visited people from the coast to eastern Oregon in parks and homeless encampments in Seaside, Salem and Ontario. In all, the reporter traveled nearly 540 miles across Oregon.
Their responses reflect the complicated challenges Oregon faces as it enters the new phase of fighting drug addiction.
A majority of people are concerned about the reality of overcoming addiction while living in the shadows, even with the new programs. Nearly 60% who responded to the survey said easy access to drugs on the streets is a barrier people face who are addicted to fentanyl and other illicit drugs.
That remains true in the months since Oregon lawmakers passed House Bill 4002 in 2024, which recriminalized low-level drug possession and allowed counties to start deflection programs.
Since the law took effect in September, police throughout Oregon have made about 3,300 arrests for misdemeanor drug possession, state data show. An arrest doesn’t necessarily mean the person will be booked in jail for the misdemeanor charge. Often, police may cite them and give them a court date.
Many of the people in those cases are not eligible for deflection for one reason or another.
Many arrests involve other charges besides drug possession, which can make someone ineligible for the programs. Of those, about 1,110 arrests involved only misdemeanor drug possession and no other charges.
Other factors, such as having another pending case or residency outside Oregon, can also prevent their eligibility. The new law also gives police and prosecutors the discretion on whether to make deflection eligible.
Small start
In comparison, 416 people have entered deflection since the programs started across the state. More than 300 have continued to stay in the programs.
It’s a small start: Some rural counties, like Baker and Malheur, have only had a few people in the programs. But officials say they want to go slow rather than roll out a larger program that fails.
And support for the concept of deflection — putting people in treatment as an alternative to a court charge — is strong, judging from the survey results.
Sixty-eight percent said they would choose a drug treatment program instead of arrest and a misdemeanor possession charge. Just 5% said they would rather be arrested and go to jail. The remaining were uncertain.
Even so, Oregonians are acutely concerned about the lack of treatment resources for people. Nearly 64% said inadequate treatment programs also are an obstacle.
Solara Salazar, executive director of a network of West Coast Sober Housing, which has six houses for people in recovery in Portland, said the lack of resources is dire, forcing people to wait.
“Imagine there was a plane crash and there were 300 people with severe injuries,” Salazar said. “911 is called and ambulances arrive and fire trucks. But there is no hospital. They tell the injured people to show up at a hospital the next morning at 7 a.m. and one of them might get seen. That’s our current system in a nutshell.”
Drug addiction treatment ranked among the most difficult of services to access.
Among the 40 people surveyed who have accessed or tried to access drug addiction treatment, 22 of them said it was the most difficult service to obtain, for many of them easier than other services like food assistance, job training and Medicaid. Only two of the 40 said it was the easiest service to obtain.
People in recovery are stepping in to fill the gap where they can.
One of the survey participants, Jose Martinez, an outreach supervisor at 4D Recovery, works with police and people in addiction on deflection efforts in Washington County. In November, he helped a Hillsboro police officer during a response to a man found with drugs, a call that a Capital Chronicle reporter observed.
Martinez, in recovery for nearly three years, formerly used drugs that include fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine.
That makes him a peer, or someone who’s recovered from addiction and can relate to those still struggling.
“It’s very vital to have the relationship to be able to be the peer who understands and the lived experience to be able to provide individuals recourse,” he said in the survey.
Challenges remain
At the same time, Oregonians surveyed also say the task of accessing treatment, especially residential care, is a challenge.
For years, Oregon’s elected officials have acknowledged the need for more access to residential care and poured millions into new facilities.
Yet that takes time, even with money. New projects need to be planned, permitted and approved. Even then, providers have raised concerns that the state is slow to sign off on projects, leading to delays in when new facilities can serve people.
The ideas – and work – continues in Salem and local communities.
This session, Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, wants to pass legislation that would start a pilot program that provides new emergency housing that could shelter people as they wait for beds in residential facilities to open up.
In Multnomah County, officials are mapping out plans for a 24-hour sobering and crisis stabilization center that will have up to 50 beds for people in the early stages of withdrawal management.
Tools to combat the drug addiction crisis and prevent overdoses
Oregon has tools to prevent drug addiction and overdoses – and help those who want to enter recovery.
The resources apply to people in different situations: Educational programs are available to prevent youth from falling into addiction. Hotlines serve Oregonians in crisis or ready to shake off years of addiction. The state also has training tools so employers and the public can prepare to administer narcan, which reverses opioid overdoses and saves lives.
Here’s a look at what’s available:
- In a general crisis, call or text 988 for yourself or someone you know. You also can visit a counselor online at 988lifeline.org.
- You also can call the state’s Alcohol and Drug Help Line at 800-923-4357 or text “Recovery Now” to 839863. Run by Lines for Life, the 24/7 hotline provides people guidance in different situations such as making the first step, suffering withdrawal symptoms or finding local treatment options.
- The Oregon Health Authority runs the Oregon Hopeline, which provides callers with information about available resources and information about the changes to Oregon’s misdemeanor drug possession law. You can call the line at 833-975-0505.
Local treatment providers and programs
- The Oregon Health Authority lists local treatment providers in its provider directory.
- Lines for Life has a provider directory that lists provider information and the health insurance programs they accept, including the Oregon Health Plan.
Overdose reversals
Reverse Overdose Oregon has free training resources for employers and other organizations equipped with overdose reversal kits.
Youth prevention
Before drug use starts, parents and educators can talk to children about the danger of fentanyl.
The New Drug Talk Oregon provides resources like advice on how parents should talk to their children about fentanyl, overdoses and how to stay safe with social media.
Song for Charlie provides information and resources for youth, including the dangers of counterfeit pills that are laced with fentanyl.
The state also has a fentanyl toolkit to guide Oregon schools and educators in youth education and prevention and responding to overdoses. State law also requires public schools to teach prevention lessons in sixth, seventh and eighth grades and at least once in high school.
Reporter Ben Botkin produced this story as a 2024 USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism National Fellow and Engagement Grantee.
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