Drug-plagued neighbors reach across the aisle
Legislation would regulate handouts of "harm reduction" supplies
Stadiumhood Neighbors went to Salem this week to tell Legislators what it’s like to live in a neighborhood in which the practices of “harm reduction” are tolerated— even defended—by city and county officials and major social agencies.
They were invited by Rep. Christine Drazan, the Republican who lost the 2022 gubernatorial race to Gov. Tina Kotek. Earlier, Drazan had walked with neighbors along West Burnside to see the effects of uncontrolled drug use, camping and trash.
They testified for House Bill 3956, which would regulate the distribution of drug paraphernalia and other harm reduction supplies.
The irony of working with Republican politicians was not lost on Stadiumhood members, most of whom are longtime liberals and committed to urban living. But local leadership has generally responded to their pleas for help and concluded that protecting the right of individuals to live on the streets and consume illegal drugs without restraint or official condemnation trumps their right to a safe, livable community.
So who are you going to call?
https://stadiumhood.substack.com/p/we-interrupt-this-crisis-to-bring
Oregon and especially Portland need a viable second party to curb the inevitable excesses of One Party Rule, whether it's MAGA in Oklahoma or the Social Justice Warrior Cabal in Multnomah County. If the Republicans in Oregon would drop their culture wars and their obsequious adoration of Donald Trump, they would be formidable opponents to the Democratic Party elites that have pulled us so far into the hyper-progressive stratosphere.