After the word got out on Friday that a Portland county was ready and set to distribute “smoking supplies,” including aluminum foil, straws, and pipes to fentanyl smokers, the program was suspended.
The Multnomah County program was met with sharp criticism from health experts, Portland citizens, and even the mayor.
The program was put on hold on Monday.
“Our health department went forward with this proposal without proper implementation protocols,” explained County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson on Tuesday. “And in that light, I am suspending the program pending further analysis.”
The plan, which took inspiration from other “harm reduction” efforts across the country, was mentioned to the county board as early as May. After the initiative was reported by Willamette Week, two county commissioners immediately voiced their concerns.
“As it relates to distributing foil and straw to enable fentanyl use, there is no compelling evidence that it is comparable to safe needle exchanges or that the county currently has capacity to connect individuals to treatment who want it,” commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards commented.
Sarah Dean, a spokesperson for Multnomah County, explained that fentanyl is usually smoked. As addicts do not need syringes, visits to county clinics have dropped more than 60 percent since 2019. “Several decades of research have also shown that providing supplies for safer drug use does not increase illegal drug use,” Ms. Dean added.
The number of fentanyl overdose deaths in the area increased eightfold over the last three years, from 26 in 2019 to 209 in 2022.
By supplying smoking paraphernalia, the county hopes to encourage users to stop using syringes, which can transmit diseases, and also to motivate them to visit the clinic, where they can obtain fentanyl test strips, Narcan, a fast-acting overdose reversal drug, etc.
The county plans to spend a total of $3 million over the next fiscal year on such “harm reduction” supplies.
Loretta Guzman, owner of a local coffeehouse in Portland, is among the many residents who opposed the initiative.
“It’s like they condone this type of behavior and want it for us, and it’s like they’re just totally destroying our city. They’re destroying many, many businesses. It’s really horrible to see some of the businesses … there’s like tons of people just out there just smoking straight fentanyl. Everywhere you go, they’re just smoking it.”
Angela Todd, a Portland resident vocal about the fentanyl problem on social media, said the initiative borders on “insanity.” “This is horrifying. Our county continues to enable these people,” she added. “We need proper detox facilities.”
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who has no direct authority over Multnomah County programming, referred to the initiative as “actively enabling” the city’s exploding fentanyl problem: “This misguided approach also results in greater risk to public safety for those who simply want to enjoy our city without walking through a cloud of toxic smoke,” he said in a statement on Friday.
Ms. Pederson, however, remains in favor of the now-suspended plan: “My focus has been on saving lives,” she said in a statement. “I’m interested in connecting people with lifesaving materials like naloxone because we’ve seen a significant decrease in the number of people utilizing our harm reduction resources as fentanyl use became more prevalent.”
Drug counselor Kevin Dahlgren had a different take: “That’s their justification for doing this, that we’ll have more interaction and contact with them,” he told Fox News. “But the fact is, they don’t offer services. They just encourage the use.”
“Multnomah County historically never had a plan to end homelessness,” Mr. Dahlgren added. “This now their plan, just let them all die. This is just shocking. This is the deadliest drug in history and now we’re giving them the means to kill themselves faster.”
