ZOMBIE-EYED and writhing in the streets, a man falls to the sidewalks of Portland, Oregon, sighing – but passers-by barely glance at him.
They’ve grown accustomed to the sight of shabby addicts huddling in sleeping bags, sending clouds of crystal meth smoke into the winter air, amid a sea of tents where sex workers ply their trade under the watchful eyes of pimps.
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The American city of Portland turned into a miserable, dirty and dangerous place after drugs were decriminalized in 2021. Credit: Rupert Thorpe
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Heroin, cocaine, crystal meth and fentanyl were legalized under what is known as Measure 110. Credit: Rupert Thorpe
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Pimps hook women up on fentanyl and then control them as sex workers selling their services for as little as $20 Credit: Rupert Thorpe
Once the hipster paradise that inspired the cable satire Portlandia, which featured residents obsessed with barista coffee and bike-sharing schemes, this liberal city on the Northeast Coast now looks more like a nightmare dystopia.
That’s because two years ago, Portland decriminalized all drugs — including heroin, cocaine, crystal meth and fentanyl — under what’s known as Measure 110.
Possession of small amounts of these deadly substances no longer results in arrest — even though it is illegal to drink alcohol on the streets. The effect was devastating.
The number of overdose deaths there is estimated to have increased by 28 percent in a year.
The state is now worst in the nation for young people dying from drugs.
Multnomah County, which includes Portland, had nearly 500 drug-related deaths last year. In 2019, there were 200 of them.
The number of murders in the city reached record levels in 2022, victims were killed in the streets, and even shots were fired in the emergency department of the hospital.
Some businesses have been closed forever due to numerous violent thefts.
Now the governor of the state, Tina Kotek, is calling for a ban on taking drugs on city streets.
But local activists want to go further – and abandon the decriminalization experiment.
‘It’s a death sentence’
Angela Todd, 49, who showed The Sun around Portland’s Chinatown area, said: “Decriminalization is not working.
It was sold to the people as a way to solve the problem and it didn’t happen. He couldn’t handle the nuclear explosion caused by Fentanyl, P2P Meth and synthetic PCP.
“Instead of making people responsible for their drug use, it has enabled all the problems like crime, murder and burglary.
“Smoking fentanyl is allowed on the street, but not alcohol. This is madness.”
The shocking scenes are a grim warning to Britain, which faces an influx of synthetic opioids such as Fentanyl in the coming years, according to drug lords.
It was also revealed this year that our government’s drug advisers have privately recommended the decriminalization of personal drug use, calls echoed by the SNP over the summer in Scotland, which has the highest drug-related death rate in Europe.
Desperate residents in Portland urged local politicians not to repeat their experiment.
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Drug gangs from South America now control the supply on the streets of Portland
Known as the City of Roses, because of the flowers that bloom in the area, the main thing growing in Portland right now is violence.
There were 101 murders last year, up from 92 in 2021 and far worse than the previous record of 70 in 1987.
Locals point to conflicts between drug dealers as the main cause.
South American cartels control most of the city’s drug supply, and teenagers use electric scooters to make deliveries.
Angela, who runs Portland’s PDX Real news service with her partner Jeff Church, 53, says, “Walking these streets, you’re taking your life into your own hands.
“All the homeless have guns. The streets are run like a prison.”
A homeless fentanyl addict tells us how he was attacked just a few days earlier.
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Kai lives on the streets of downtown Portland and says he can’t see a way out Credit: Rupert Thorpe
Kai Latterellis, 47, who started taking painkillers after a motorbike accident, said: “It happens every few days. I knew people were dying. I don’t think there’s any exit from the street. I will die here.”
The synthetic opioid he got hooked on killed more than 107,000 in the US last year.
Local addicts say they continue to take the drug, which is up to 40 times stronger than heroin, even after it nearly kills them.
Many carry Narcan, a substance used to reverse the effects of drug overdoses—if they’re lucky.
Ronnie Eubanks, homeless for more than 30 years, points to the street corners and entrances where he overdosed on fentanyl.
The 64-year-old says: “I was out of it there, here, in the Pacific, in Flanders. Narcan brought me back every time. I know 15 people died. People close to me too.
“The streets are a death sentence, it’s just a matter of time.”
Portland, with its population of 2.5 million, has some of the most expensive real estate on the West Coast and is also said to have more strip clubs per capita than anywhere else in the country.
Its citizens voted in a public vote to decriminalize hard drugs in 2020. Measure 110 then took effect until February 2021.
Locals were told that addicts would be treated and not sent to prison. But rehab clinics and homeless centers couldn’t keep up with the explosion of substance abuse.
Tim Desper, 45, director of the Portland Rescue Mission, points out the absurdity of the state’s laws.
He explains: “If someone smokes fentanyl and overdoses, it’s ten minutes before they die. If we can get them with Narcan, they can survive. It’s a miracle, really.
“But legally we can’t stop that person from smoking Fentanyl again 20 minutes after they’ve recovered.
A cautionary tale
“We can ask them to recover, we cannot force them, and they – and let’s remember that they are addicts – have no obligation to do so. The law must be changed.”
Another effect of allowing hard drug use to get out of control is the rise of female sex workers.
In the city center young women sell their bodies for as little as £16.
Ex-policeman-turned-support worker Spencer (49), who won’t reveal his last name, says: “Pimps traffic in girls from all over the country. Girls in their 20s who were in care. They get them hooked on fentanyl and then they are under the control of pimps.
“They rent for $20 a day, maybe less. There are many tents around with only a few dirty blankets inside where they do their work.”
Spencer has been running the Love One Another outreach program for the past 18 months and has helped 800 people get off the streets.
He has seen addicts use a government debit card to buy goods that they then sell for cash to get their hands on killer substances.
Spencer adds: “Crime is, of course, what finances most of the drugs, but homeless people also have the right to a debit card that they can use to buy food, which they sell to get drugs.
“Car theft is also a big problem. Cars are regularly removed for things like catalytic converters.”
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Cafe owner Robert Jung says Bill 110 should be repealed immediately Credit: Rupert Thorpe
Store owners are tired of cleaning up the mess caused by Measure 110. Robert Jung (39), owner of the Monte Rossa cafe, has an unenviable start to the day.
He says: “Every day I clean the s**nip*** off the door. Now it’s routine. Law 110 is what created all the problems and now it needs to be repealed.”
Others have spent huge sums on extra security to deter thieves. Elizabeth Nye is the CEO of Lansu Chinese Garden.
Until the £40,000 fence was recently installed, security guards cost £16,000 a month.
She says, “We’re here to show what else is possible in this community. It would be easy to give up. But we have families coming here and when you see children walking these streets, you know there is hope for the future.”
Governor Kotek’s decision to ask the police to arrest people seen openly taking drugs will certainly be welcomed.
She also promised to step up raids on suspected dealers. But those fighting the drug epidemic think the city serves as a warning.
Eric Bauer, 66, executive director of the Portland Rescue Mission, warns the UK not to make the same mistake.
He concludes: “Decriminalization has failed because there is no accountability.” There must be accountability for actions.
“UK, this is coming to you. Be ready. Fentanyl gives you bodies, P2P Meth gives you zombies. This is what’s coming to the UK.
“This is a tsunami, a perfect storm, and my message is: ‘Learn from us. Be ready’.”
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Drug addicts writhing on Portland sidewalks are a regular sight Credit: Rupert Thorpe
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Oregon is now worst in the US for young people dying from drugsCredit: Rupert Thorpe
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education