Oregon pays the price for being the first US state to decriminalize hard drugs

Fentanyl, meth, heroin – since 2021, anyone has been able to take hard drugs in Oregon without serious penalty. But the price has been high. In Portland, overdose rates have soared, robberies are common and the murder rate has risen to its highest level in history.

by Marie-Astrid Langer, Amanda Lucier photo
May 27, 2024

A Tuesday morning like any other in Portland's historic downtown: A man runs through the streets screaming, swinging a branch over his head as if he wanted to kill someone. Another is sleeping it off in the middle of the sidewalk in front of the Chinese Garden. Next to him, someone inhales fentanyl through a piece of aluminum foil. No matter where one looks, there are traces of drug dealing and drug consumption.