I don’t think it’s realistic to place responsibility for the current situation on the decriminalization vote. Whether or not that law passed, Portland is still

I don’t think it’s realistic to place responsibility for the current situation on the decriminalization vote. Whether or not that law passed, Portland is still facing a plethora of issues around the rapid growth in its homeless population and lack of law enforcement response/resources. Even if we kept drugs illegal it’s not like anyone would be around to enforce the law. Note that drug sales are still illegal. So the sense that “dealers are moving faster than mental health professionals” isn’t really true, there’s really just a gap in government services on both ends right now.