My note in our Fall 2023 edition lamented the failures of Measure 110 in both urban and rural Oregon.

The Oregon Legislature focused on this issue in its recent session and leaders passed a measure that would again criminalize the possession of drugs such as methamphetamine and fentanyl, while encouraging and funding drug treatment.

Two weeks ago, I was walking past the Salvation Army in downtown Pendleton. I noticed the door of the portable toilet in the middle of the parking lot was wide open. A man was lying face up in the parking lot next to it. He was pale, not moving, and seemed to be barely breathing. 

As I approached him, I reached for my cellphone and for the Narcan I carry in my purse, and looking around for help. There was no one in sight.

I shook his shoulder and yelled to try to wake him up, noticing a lighter and pipe inside the portable toilet and his belongings in a cart nearby.

I stood over him with phone in one hand and Narcan in the other, trying to decide what to do next. Should I administer Narcan and hope he didn’t wake up swinging at me? Call 911?

Then, after a minute, his eyelids flickered. I put my phone and Narcan away. A passerby — someone who knew this man from previous interactions — helped me get him up and over to a bench and said he would stay with him. I went on my way, believing there was no help or advice I could offer that would make a difference for him.

I know that hundreds of other Oregon public safety officers and citizens have been in a situation similar to mine over the past three years. Interacting with people deep in the throes of addiction is hard. If they want help, it’s hard to find. If they don’t want help, there have been no levers to pull to get them to a place where they will accept help. 

Starting Sept. 1, law enforcement in Oregon will have a lever to pull when they find someone in possession of illegal drugs. However, the challenge ahead for counties is to create “deflection” programs to help break the cycle of addiction with the funding available. It will be an ongoing challenge for years to come.

— Kathryn B. Brown