Drug user drop-off near preschool lacks safety plan, MultCo commissioner says

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – With less than three weeks until Oregon recriminalizes the possession of hard drugs, Multnomah County commissioners continue to debate whether their plan that could help drug users seek treatment to avoid jail time will be ready.

Commissioner Sharon Meieran says the county’s current plan, proposed by Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, should not have passed a recent board vote without “a comprehensive, cohesive plan around public safety.”

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Starting Sept. 1, Oregon’s new drug law will make the possession of small amounts of drugs like fentanyl and heroin a misdemeanor — meaning drug users could face incarceration for the first time since Measure 110 passed in 2020.

In response, Multnomah County leaders have developed a plan that would allow those caught possessing drugs to choose between jail or treatment. However, this deflection model has sown discord within the county’s board of commissioners as members debate the program’s efficacy and proximity to a local preschool.

“Transporting people who are intoxicated with substances across the city to a random location, where they’re dropped off with no plan for safety, next to a preschool, that is not the way to go,” Meieran said. “But, we have the opportunity to do this right.”

In an effort to address these issues, Commissioner Meieran drafted a resolution that would pause the deflection center’s opening by 90 days.

“Critical questions related to public safety external to the facility have not been publicly addressed at all, including what happens if people brought to the facility by police choose not to go inside the facility and what happens to people after they leave,” the draft reads.

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Meanwhile, Buckman residents are split on the deflection center’s impact on local safety.

“It’s better for the addicts, better for the system, better for the neighborhood,” one resident, Caleb, said. “It provides a safe space.”

But the school’s Food Service Production Coordinator Kevin Kane said, “I immediately thought, ‘why would you do that so close to a school?”

On Aug. 8, an attorney representing the community surrounding the Escuela Viva Community School threatened to sue Multnomah County if they fail to pause their plans for the center located one block away at 900 SE Pine Street.

“The proposal for the deflection center is to bring in…people who are addicted to fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine from the entire county, bring them to this site [and] offer them a referral,” Perkins Coie Attorney David Watnick said. “Our reasonable expectation is that this is going to invite a flood of drug trafficking, drug use and crime into the neighborhood.”

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In response, the board of commissioners shared the following statement:

The County has been vocal about its commitment to being a good neighbor and has held numerous meetings with neighbors, businesses and other stakeholders. The County and members of the Central Eastside Industrial Council (CEIC) and Buckman Community Association (BCA) are moving towards establishing an agreement that guarantees a safe neighborhood and a responsive process when concerns arise. More information will be shared as this process continues.

But according to Meieran’s proposal, pausing the opening will aid the “development of a clear, comprehensive security plan that would be fully staffed, account for contingencies, and be implementable from the first day the facility opens.”

That resolution has yet to be added to the board’s meeting agenda this week.

KOIN 6 News reached out to Chair Jessica Vega Pederson’s team with specific questions about the plan to address safety, but she was not available for comment. A spokesperson said her office is reviewing the resolution request, and said they would decide whether the resolution will be a part of the agenda by Friday.

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