I read with interest recently that our governor is directing the state police to focus on fentanyl enforcement. Great, but a little late. And then, the next day, I read about the misuse of treatment dollars granted by the state. The decriminalization of hard drugs has been a disaster for Oregon. I know firsthand, having survived a head-on crash at highway speed almost a year ago by an allegedly drug-and-alcohol impaired driver that killed a 5-year-old girl. The state trooper said the increase in cases like mine have risen dramatically.

Fentanyl has received much attention due to overdose deaths, but looking at the lives of heroin and meth addicts living in squalor on the streets is just as devastating. The consequences of criminal action often will spur an addict to treatment. Drug courts work to break the cycle of addiction; it is the carrot and the stick. If you want to get to the dealers, you often have to work through the user. There is no motivation for the user any longer to cooperate.

The state has taken away many law enforcement tools used to address the flow of drugs in our state and the governor thinks she can just tell OSP to focus on it?

Measure 110 was well intended, desiring treatment over incarceration. But it was so shortsighted into the reality of what really will make a difference. If it is predictable, it is preventable. Wake up, Oregon!

Debbie Baker

Sunriver