According to news on January 31, local time, the American city of Portland was declared a 90-day state of emergency to combat the city's "fentanyl" crisis.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson reportedly issued a joint statement declaring a state of emergency in Portland while directing affiliates to work with first responders to connect synthetic opioid addicts to resources, including drug treatment programs, while combating drug sales.
"Never before has our country and our state seen such a deadly addictive drug, and everyone is struggling to deal with it," Gov. Kotek said.
Looking back, the synthetic opioid addiction and overdose crisis that has plagued the United States for more than 20 years has left federal, state, and local governments scrambling to find solutions.
Oregon was the first to move, but it came up with a way to "counter violence with violence", and in 2020 it became the first state in the United States to "legalize" all drugs, including heroin and cocaine.
Soon Oregon's annual opioid death toll more than tripled, from 280 before the vote was passed to 955.
The city of Portland is a microcosm of Oregon's sinking mess, as evidenced by the growing number of addicts on the streets.
Most people have reached the point of being unscrupulous, smoking contraband on the streets in broad daylight, or injecting those toxic substances into their bodies through pillows, and sometimes fainting in the streets, and whether they can get up again depends on luck. Of course, after getting up again, it is still a repeat of the previous behavior.
Portlanders complained, having to step on used needles on their way to work, and seeing broken glass tubes and dirty floors was a common occurrence. In addition, they have to endure the creepy screams of addicts, some of whom are already insane.
"Even addicts are begging for drug legalization," the locals commented, showing how harmful the so-called legalization is. As mayor, Wheeler acknowledged that Portland's drug abuse problem "has reached deadly and catastrophic proportions."
According to the city's statistics, the overall number of homeless people has increased by 65% over the past eight years, and about 6,297 people in the city sleep on the streets all year round, and most of them are addicts.
The chaotic streets and poor law and order environment have also made many retail companies avoid it. Just last March, Walmart announced that it would permanently close all of its Portland stores because there were so many thefts that it might as well close them.
According to a citizen survey commissioned by the Portland Police Union, half of the residents have decided to move out of the city if they can. Nearly two-thirds of citizens believe the city is "on the wrong track."