Oregon spent funds meant for addiction services on prosecutors, police gadgets

Summary

The state of Oregon, which has long struggled with one of the worst drug-addiction crises in the US, last year announced $20m in grants to help connect people to substance-use services.The funds, the governor and lawmakers said, would go to counties to support a “treatment first” approach, encouraging jurisdictions to get drug users into recovery programs, instead of arresting and jailing them.Some local governments, however, have spent the taxpayer-funded grants to beef up law enforcement.Budget documents obtained by the Guardian through public records requests reveal that several counties have put the money toward hiring prosecutors, acquiring police gadgets and police vehicles, and covering sheriff costs. Washington county, the state’s second-largest jurisdiction, budgeted twice as much of its funds for police and district attorney salaries as it did on community programs, while two other counties used the money for laser devices that are meant to detect drugs but have been criticized as useless.Counties have said their law enforcement investments are geared toward getting people treatment. But some recovery organizations and advocates for people with addiction said the spending was a misuse of funds meant to help people in need, and an example of governments prioritizing policing over investing in services to address an urgent public health crisis. The state has ranked last in the nation for treatment access while overdoses have surged to five deaths a day.The counties’ spending choices also come as addiction service providers across the state are grappling with significant budget cuts, with some non-profits forced to put would-be patients and clients on long waitlists before they can get help.The funding controversy stems from the state’s high-profile flip-flop on drug policy.In 2020, Oregon voters passed a first-in-the-nation ballot measure to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs, aimed at treating addiction as a disease instead of a crime. But t...