State, county and city officials have declared a 90-day state of emergency for Portland's Central City due to the ongoing fentanyl crisis that continues to harm public health and safety in the region.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Commission Chair Jessica Vega Pederson declared the tri-government fentanyl emergency on Jan. 30. The declaration from state, county and city officials followed recommendations by the governor-established Portland Central City Task Force late in 2023 aimed at "rejuvenating" the Central City area.
The area, which includes Goose Hollow and the Lloyd District, is also struggling with an ongoing homelessness crisis.
As part of the emergency response, the city, state and county will direct relevant agencies to collaborate and commit available resources to address the fentanyl crisis. The planned measures include establishing a "Command Center" in the central city that different agencies can use to coordinate strategies and response efforts.
The Command Center will also help "refocus existing resources" and will share and report publicly data on the impacts of fentanyl in downtown area. However, officials claimed that personal health care data and other protected information will not be released to the public.
Additionally, the Command Center will use data to identify and respond to any urgent needs and gaps in service and pinpoint any specific resources that can help resolve these gaps. It will also be used to "establish a system to coordinate that can be sustained beyond the 90-day startup period," explained officials. (Related: DRUG CITY: San Francisco hits grim record of 3 OVERDOSE DEATHS each day due to FENTANYL.)
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Officials announced that Mike Myers, the director of Portland's Community Safety Division, will head the city's command team. Meanwhile, Nathan Reynolds, deputy policy chief at the state's Office of Resilience and Emergency Management, will be the state's incident commander.
Former Health Officer Dr. Jennifer Vines will lead the command team for the county. Myers, Reynolds and Vines will all be responsible for coordinating resources from the jurisdiction they represent.
City, state and county officials will also manage a coordinated outreach program that will focus on preventing exposure to fentanyl and reducing harm among those who use synthetic opioids and other substances.
According to the emergency declarations, officials, together with first responders, will also improve access to outreach, treatment and recovery programs and address individuals' housing needs. However, because the emergency declarations do not provide extra funding for the joint actions, government agencies will instead rearrange current budgets to cover the costs.
Fentanyl overdoses on the rise across the U.S.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is at least 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat acute pain.
Taking as little as two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal. Unfortunately, the dangerous drug is also extremely addictive.
U.S. officials have reported that a steadily increasing number of Mexican cartels have been importing fentanyl from China before pressing it into pills or mixing it into other counterfeit pills made to look like Adderall, Xanax, or oxycodone. These counterfeit drugs are then sold to unaware buyers in America.
After announcing the tri-government actions, Kotek said that the ongoing opioid crisis is affecting not just the state but the whole country. The deadly synthetic drug fentanyl has also been linked to the deaths of thousands of Americans each year.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that from 2016 to 2021, drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl more than tripled across the United States.
In Oregon, health officials observed and alarming 74 percent surge in fentanyl-related deaths from 2019 to 2020, reported the Oregon Department of Education.
Kotek warned that the country and the state have never "seen a drug this deadly and addictive, and all are grappling with how to respond. She added that she, along with the Chair and the Mayor, have all recognized the need to act with urgency and unity across their public health and community safety systems to successfully deal with the fentanyl crisis.
Kotek also announced that the next 90 days will bear witness to "unprecedented collaboration and focused resources targeting fentanyl and provide a roadmap for the next steps."
In the release, Pederson claimed that officials are "acting with shared leadership to take urgent action" to quickly respond to the "very human toll fentanyl" that takes in the community, including overdoses, fatalities and day-to-day suffering, along with "the fear so many families are experiencing as a result" of the drug crisis.
Wheeler concluded that the joint emergency declarations are the type of coordinated action that can help make a direct impact and a lasting difference" amid the fentanyl crisis in Portland.
U.S. and Chinese officials have resumed talks to address fentanyl trafficking
The joint emergency declarations in Portland came after U.S. and Chinese officials resumed talks in Beijing about how to prevent the ongoing illicit trafficking of fentanyl.
The U.S.-China discussions were postponed more than a year because of rising tensions between Washington and Beijing after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.
Speaking to reporters last January, Wang Xiaohong, China’s public security minister, said that his deputy, who attended the closed-door talks with U.S. officials earlier in the day, had reached a "common understanding on the work plan" with officials.
Xiaohong hopes that the two delegations could work together to improve and "expand cooperation to provide more positive energy for stable, sound and sustainable China-U.S. relations."
Visit Opioids.news for more updates about the fentanyl crisis in the United States.
Watch the video below to learn how fentanyl is being disguised as candy for distribution.
This video is from The Big Mig channel on Brighteon.com.
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