Fentanyl overdose rates in Oregon have skyrocketed by 1,530 percent in recent years, making it the fastest-growing state in the nation.
new FOX12 report Shocking statistics revealed using data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals 1,268 people died from the effects of deadly drugs from September 2019 to September 2023 became.
Rapid increase in 2020 Measures 110a drug decriminalization law that most Oregonians enforce. Please believe me now When we saw the death toll skyrocket, we thought that was a grave mistake.
A person smokes fentanyl foil on Park Avenue after all drugs were decriminalized in downtown Portland, Oregon, on January 23, 2024. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
The state with the second-highest increase is Oklahoma, where health officials expect a total of 717 fentanyl-related deaths in 2023, compared to 67 just five years ago.
“Some of the states along the East Coast had the lowest rates of increase,” the local newspaper reported.
Oregon’s fentanyl crisis prompted Democratic officials (Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek, Multnomah County Mayor Jessica Vega Pederson, and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler) to declare a 90-day jail term. emergency in Portland in early February.
Local leaders in rural Oregon are seeking the state’s help in curbing a problem that has spread far beyond metropolitan areas.
A person lies on the street in the Old Town Chinatown area in downtown Portland, Oregon, on January 25, 2024. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
“We’re in a crisis, and it’s easy to see.” Said State Rep. Lucetta Elmer (R)’s district is located about an hour south of Portland.
“We have a drug epidemic, and we see public drug use every day,” she continued in a recent article. interview with Fox News. “There’s extreme homelessness and trash everywhere. It’s not only unsafe, it’s unsightly, it’s also heartbreaking because our fellow citizens are literally dying.”
