Drug Crisis

Some of the drugs, guns and cash confiscated by law enforcement in Oregon and Western Washington in a single month, April 2023. Drugs, especially fentanyl, are coming into the state in unprecedented quantities. Photos provided from Vancouver Police Department, U.S. Department of Justice, Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police.

For years, Oregonians have reported some of the highest rates of substance use disorder in the nation on federal surveys. The opioid crisis is nearly three decades old and use of methamphetamine, long Oregon’s deadliest drug, has not abated. At the same time, the state consistently has among the lowest treatment availability in the country, according to surveys conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Fentanyl — a cheap, incredibly addictive synthetic opioid — has made all of those problems much worse.