Yeah, went from a drug epidemic to lower drug rates and fewer drug problems than average by simply treating drug addiction as the illness it is. With compassion and education.
That's abuse though...drug abuse is like alcohol abuse or tobacco abuse....also the fact that when one state legalizes recreational drugs...it attracts all the drug abusers from other states. Same as alcohol abuse and tobacco abuse..addiction requires treatment and social services. Portland seems to have a disconnect between community outreach, the police force and the homeless population. That was a problem before legalization. No doubt...Portland needs to address it's homeless problem. Eugene funded shelters outside the downtown area and really cleaned up the homeless situation for the most part...Alcohol is the biggest addiction in amongst the homeless population in the small town near my property....has been for over 20 years here. Alcohol has been legal for my entire life...same with tobacco which has also been legal my entire life. I see homeless here scrounging for cigarette butts in ashtrays everywhere as well as seeing beggars in town smoking 10 dollar a pack cigarettes...that's a hell of an addiction when it comes before food or shelter or personal hygiene..
Not working? We've had a pandemic and fires which have caused pain and suffering not seen in our lifetimes.
People are on the street for a lot of reasons....I never claimed they are on the street only because of tobacco and alcohol addiction...I said the local homeless were drunks begging for money for alchohol and tobacco addictions....which is true for a vast majority of the ones in my nearby hometown...been the same tribe of hobos here for over 20 years.....if you think alchohol isn't making lots of people homeless...well that's your opinion...I think it has functioned that way for centuries......tobacco is one of the most addicting substances abused on the planet. It's poison and many homeless will search for it all day long in place of food or laundry service etc......tobacco is an expensive addiction as well. Not all people who smoke and drink become homeless nor do all the heroin addicts become homeless. You can disagree all you like. Tobacco is possibly the most addictive substance on the planet. My point is people see them differently for one reason....they're LEGAL ....and I think they should be but they have left trash and filth in cities for ages....there are more cigarette butts and booze cans and bottles in the ditches and on the streets than crack pipes or needles. There are also probably more cocaine addicts in the world of entertainment that aren't homeless and make small fortunes than there are homeless people. Drug addiction is a problem...alcoholism is a bigger problem in comparison. You might be a casual drinker or even a smoker or occasional recreational drug user and never become homeless...yet the vast majority of homeless throughout my life and all over the world tend to be alcoholics or mentally ill people. The vast majority of litter is left behind by smokers and drinkers as well..it's why they collect cans in the ditches to buy more booze and tobacco. But hey.....it's legal!
How is it not working? We're arresting thousands fewer people per year for nonviolent, non harmful crimes.
We're talking about homeless people in Portland....not people with the choice between paying a mortgage and buying a pack of smokes however at 10 bucks a pack a couple with a pack a day habit would be better able to save for rent without spending 20 bucks a day on American Spirits eh? Choices....the main hobo king in the town down the hill from me is an alcoholic ex engineer who's been on the street here for 20 years..alcoholism cost him his career, his family and his ability to have a funtioning life ..highly educated, hopelessly addicted to booze..actually a nice guy...I've known him for over two decades. He just gave up trying. That was true not only today but in the 1950s and 60s when I grew up...there were homeless drunks. Fortunately I was never addicted to booze but tobacco addiction was one of the toughest struggles in my life to overcome..the money I spent on that habit could very well have been used for better purposes. In the world of addictive substances....tobacco was my struggle and probably the cause of my heart failure ..I quit using it about 8 years ago but was still addicted to nicotine lozenges for several years after that which were also really expensive...nicotine is a tough drug to kick.
Because that's what happens in periods of unrest and economic turmoil like we've had for the last few years. That's why it's happening all over the country, not just in Oregon.
You're having trouble reconciling why an Oregon law can't solve a national problem?
I don't think there are enough violent people that the prison population needs to grow. We just need enough room that violent people aren't being matrixed out early. Because letting violent people out is obviously not a good thing.
That Oregon law covers our cities as much as it covers Portland. No police in Oregon can arrest people for possession of small amounts of drugs.
