The Portland City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to enact a ban on the use of hard drugs like fentanyl, heroin and meth on public property in an effort to improve the Oregon city’s livability.
The council voted 5-0 to approve an emergency ordinance that adds criminal penalties to public drug use, including up to six months in jail or a $500 fine, the Oregonian reported.
“This is the right and proper step to disrupt the debilitating drug use on Portland’s streets that is causing profound damage to the livability of our city, overwhelming our emergency response system and destroying lives,” said Commissioner Rene Gonzalez, according to local outlets.
However, the ordinance does not take effect unless Oregon state lawmakers pass a new law that would give cities and other municipalities the authority to regulate public drug use — which residents voted to decriminalize in a 2020 ballot measure.
The council voted 5-0 to approve an emergency ordinance that adds criminal penalties to the public use of hard drugs.
Fatal opioid-related overdoses increased fivefold between 2018 and 2020 in Multnomah County.KEVIN DAHLGREN
The city council also passed a resolution directing Portland’s Office of Government Relations to lobby state lawmakers to address the proliferation of public drug use — and the rise in overdose deaths.
Fatal opioid-related overdoses increased fivefold between 2018 and 2020 in Multnomah County, which includes Portland, and fentanyl deaths reached a record-breaking 209 deaths last year, according to the Oregonian.
The use of hard drugs on the streets has also thrust Portland into the national spotlight, with critics seeing the liberal city as a place of lawlessness, despair and homelessness.
The Portland City Council is powerless to enforce its new ordinance unless state lawmakers authorize municipalities to regulate public drug use. twitter@kevinvdahlgren
The locals are also fed up.
At Wednesday’s city council hearing, nearly every member of the public who testified before the vote said they supported banning public drug use, the newspaper reported.
Mayor Ted Wheeler said there is no time to waste in getting the drug situation under control, according to the outlet.
“The bottom line is this: Week by week things are getting worse,” the Democrat said during the council meeting. “We need to focus immediately on saving lives and livelihoods.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
