With Ballot Measure 110 in 2020, Oregon decriminalized possession of small amounts of hard drugs like fentanyl and meth. The idea was to emulate programs in Portugal and France that had successfully reduced overdoses and public drug use. Four years later, it was clear decriminalization had not worked, more people were overdosing in the streets, and the measure was repealed. For Rolling Stone, Jason Motlagh spoke with business owners, treatment workers, harm reduction specialists, addicts and more to report on life in Portland after the repeal of Ballot Measure 110.
LATE ONE NIGHT, making the rounds with Elder and Perez, we speed to an overdose call in Chinatown, right across the street from The Society Hotel. An unconscious man named Gilbert is receiving emergency breathing from a woman, and three discarded shots of naloxone litter the ground. “His heart’s working, but he’s not breathing,” the woman shouts. The man’s lips are turning blue, and Perez, unsure of how long he’s been out, jumps in to give him another shot of naloxone. The woman pushes her against the wall: “Goddamit, you’re gonna kill him if you give him another shot!” Perez pleads. “We’re on the same team, mama!” The scene is harrowing and poignant, two strangers trying their damndest to save a dying man on a cold, wet sidewalk. And they succeed: Gilbert wakes up just as an ambulance and fire truck arrive.
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