According to the liberal media, Republicans and their heartless laws that protected unborn life were putting lives in danger. But when it came to admitting Oregon’s drug decriminalization law had become an unmitigated and deadly disaster, Wednesday’s CBS Mornings was noticeably mute on casting blame on the party that controlled all aspects of the state government: Democrats. And even while admitting that the law had caused overdoses and deaths to skyrocket, CBS was still trying to defend the law.
“The state of Oregon could soon be under a statewide fentanyl emergency as overdoses there soar of record levels,” warned co-anchor Vladimir Duthiers. “Oregon saw the sharpest increase in overdose deaths from synthetic opioids in the U.S.” following the enactment of Measure 110 in 2020, which “decriminalized” many drugs, including hard narcotics.
Correspondent Adam Yamaguchi was on the ground in Portland, Oregon, and painted an apocalyptic scene: “Block after block, foil, syringes, and used Narcan canisters litter the streets. The sight of open fentanyl use is inescapable.”
Yamaguchi was with Portland Police when they confronted a young man, Milo McPherson, who was smoking fentanyl on the sidewalk. The interaction between police and the suspect was truly bizarre, they issued him a $100 citation and informed him he didn’t have to pay it as long as he called a hotline number (click “expand”):
YAMAGUCHI: 23-year-old Milo McPherson is not facing arrest or criminal prosecution for openly smoking fentanyl, instead, Portland Police Officer David Baer hands McPherson a $100 citation.
BAER: You’re going to call one of these numbers.
MILO MCPHERSON: Excellent.
BAER: [Inaudible] They’re going to pay the ticket for you. And if you want treatment, they can give you treatment. Okay?
But it didn’t matter if he made the call because, as Yamaguchi admitted, “calling the help hotline is voluntary” and out of the “more than 6,000 citations have been filed” since 2020, “64 percent have been ignored.”
While Duthiers hinted at the rising death toll that followed Measure 110’s passage in 2020, Yamaguchi did not. According to the Oregon Health Authority, “unintentional opioid overdose deaths” were at 472 in 2020. They jumped up to 737 the following year, and again in 2022 to 955.
Nowhere in Yamaguchi’s report did he mention that Measure 110 and its deadly consequences were the brainchild of the Democrats who controlled the state government. He also omitted that fact from the online article he co-wrote. Despite those deaths, he still tried to put a positive spin on the results.
Without evidence, he boosted claims from “advocates of the measure” that they had treated 15,000 individuals at more than 200 locations statewide.” But he never explained what the definition of “treatment” was in any meaningful context, since the phone call and seeking treatment were voluntary.
In a perfect world, 15,000 people could be drug-free. But “treatment” in a voluntary system could mean that people came in, heard them out, were handed a pamphlet, and left. It could also mean that people were in a treatment program for a little while and left before breaking their addiction. Yamaguchi also didn’t discuss how effective the “treatment” was; how many people fell back into addiction over time? All of those were important factors in working out the impact of Measure 110 and CBS did not address them.
Yamaguchi did speak with one woman who represented an organization (Volunteers of America) that had received nearly $1 million from Oregon via Measure 110. “Well, let's say you repeal 110 and you start to criminalize substance abuse again, what you have is individuals being incarcerated and not receiving the help that they need,” she argued.
There was no disclosure of how effective their treatment program was.
He also spoke with a mom who successfully completed a different program and was grateful it allowed her to give her daughter a better life.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
CBS Mornings
December 20, 2023
8:22:34 a.m. EasternVLADIRMIR DUTHIERS: Welcome back to CBS Mornings. The state of Oregon could soon be under a statewide fentanyl emergency as overdoses there soar of record levels. Some are blaming a first-of-its-kind law passed in 2020 which partly decriminalized possessing certain drugs. Oregon saw the sharpest increase in overdose deaths from synthetic opioids in the U.S. after the legislation took effect. Adam Yamaguchi joined police on patrol in Portland to see the impact of this controversial law.
[Cuts to video]
ADAM YAMAGUCHI: It’s the middle of the day in town downtown Portland, Oregon. We’re on the ride along with Portland Police bike squad. Block after block, foil, syringes, and used Narcan canisters litter the streets. The sight of open fentanyl use is inescapable.
What did you see that warrants a citation?
OFFICER DAVID BAER (Portland Police): He was smoking drugs on the sidewalk.
YAMAGUCHI: 23-year-old Milo McPherson is not facing arrest or criminal prosecution for openly smoking fentanyl, instead, Portland Police Officer David Baer hands McPherson a $100 citation.
BAER: You’re going to call one of these numbers.
MILO MCPHERSON: Excellent.
BAER: [Inaudible] They’re going to pay the ticket for you. And if you want treatment, they can give you treatment. Okay?
YAMAGUCHI: Under Oregon's Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act, drugs are decriminalized statewide in an effort to instead help drug addicts with treatment.
BAER (to a group of addicts): Everyone has Narcan?
$100 fine. Smoking fentanyl in public. Don’t worry about that. And they’re either going to offer you treatment or at least pay the fine for you.
YAMAGUCHI: But calling the help hotline is voluntary, frustrating Portland law enforcement. They say, without the threat of jail and fentanyl's addictiveness, there is not a real incentive for people to seek treatment.
What sort of an impact does 110 had on what you do out on the street every day?
BAER: My full-time job is fentanyl. And basically all roads lead to fentanyl in downtown Portland.
YAMAGUCHI: Since Measure 110 took effect nearly three years ago, more than 6,000 citations have been filed and 64 percent have been ignored.
KEVIN BARTON (district attorney, Washington County): The vast majority of people that get those tickets, they just throw them away.
YAMAGUCHI: A coalition of police chiefs, donors, and district attorneys are now calling for the recriminalization of drugs, along with adding diversion programs within the criminal court system.
BARTON: We don’t want to double down on something that’s failing. We’ve had three years of this law that has not delivered on the promise that voters thought they were getting.
YAMAGUCHI: Including Washington County D.A. Kevin Barton.
People in these social services programs will say the process of putting someone in jail is part of the harm that they're trying to reduce.
BARTON: There's no silver bullet here. We need to create rewards and consequences to motivate people to engage in treatment.
YAMAGUCHI: The advocates of the measure say it’s treated 15,000 individuals at more than 200 locations statewide. And more housing, treatment, and rehabilitation programs are opening up. As a result, 68 fewer individuals have been arrested or jailed for drug use or possession.
CHRISTINA ANDERSON (program director, Volunteers of America, Oregon): The disease of addition is not a moral problem. It is a medical problem.
YAMAGUCHI: Christina Anderson is program director at Volunteers of America, Oregon. The organization is received nearly a million dollars in Measure 110 funding. And are expanding outreach and services. Anderson says that decriminalization is the best hope for Oregonians struggling with addiction.
There are measures a couple measures that seek to reform, even repeal 110. What would that do?
ANDERSON: Well, let's say you repeal 110 and you start to criminalize substance abuse again, what you have is individuals being incarcerated and not receiving the help that they need.
YAMAGUCHI: 4D Recovery is just one of the treatment centers newly funded by Measure 110.
EBONY BRAWLEY: I probably wouldn't be sitting here today.
YAMAGUCHI: And it offered Ebony Brawley peer mentorship during her treatment. Brawley said the fear of returning to jail wasn’t enough to turn her life around.
BRAWLEY: Because of Measure 110, I was able to change my story and break those chains. You know? And provide a life for myself and my daughter that she probably wouldn’t have had otherwise.
YAMAGUCHI: Back on the street, word of the available resources is spreading. And today, McPherson has a new chance to change his story.
You’ve been jailed before?
MCPHERSON: Yeah, a couple times. [Transition] I don’t think I belong there. You know what I mean? Like, I am not a criminal.
YAMAGUCHI: You seem like you're ready for treatment.
MCPHERSON: Yeah. Yeah. No, for sure. I've been working on it. This is a perfect resource for me, actually right now.
YAMAGUCHI: So, you think you’ll call the hotline?
MCPHERSON: Yeah, for sure.
YAMAGUCHI: For CBS mornings, I am Adam Yamaguchi in Portland.
