Ben Botkin

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An $18 million bill that would have expanded school health centers has died in the Legislature. | AMANDA LOMAN/OREGON CAPITAL CHRONICLE

Oregon Legislature allocates millions for adult addiction, stumbles on funding for children

A bill to expand school health centers quietly died this week, confounding advocates and disappointing lawmakers

Mar 7, 2024

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Sara Barger, executive manager and policy liaison for 4D Recovery, visits with Mitch Wright, 31, in a recovery house in Gresham on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. Wright, one of the house’s residents, said the house’s structure helped him turn his life around after drug addiction. | BEN BOTKIN/OREGON CAPITAL CHRONICLE

Recovery houses in Oregon provide crucial transition in path toward drug-free life

Oregon lawmakers poised to allocate $18 million this session to help them grow

Mar 5, 2024

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Democratic state Rep. Jason Kropf of Bend and Democratic state Sen. Kate Lieber of Beaverton have orchestrated the meetings on their approach to Oregon's drug crisis. (Ben Botkin/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

In first vote, committee passes controversial bill that would unwind Measure 110

Police and prosecutors support House Bill 4002, but civil rights advocates warn that it would usher in Oregon’s return to the failed war on drugs

Feb 29, 2024

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SHUTTERSTOCK

Senate committee axes proposal for mandatory addiction treatment for children

The Senate Human Services Committee trimmed the bill down to a pilot program giving drug users quick access to treatment medication

Feb 22, 2024

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Simon Fulford, executive director of Parrott Creek Child and Family Services in Oregon City, looks into a resident's room. For months, his organization has tried to seek state funding for youth residential addiction services. | MICHAEL ROMANOS/OREGON CAPITAL CHRONICLE

Oregon Health Authority’s slowness to respond to drug crisis stymies expansion of care

Providers have ‘shovel ready’ projects, and the Legislature allocated millions last year but the health authority has yet to make any funding decisions

Feb 18, 2024

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This seizure on April 21, 2023 of 100,000 fentanyl pills, 3 kilograms of heroin and 1 kilogram of fentanyl in the La Grande area typifies street drugs in Oregon. | OREGON STATE POLICE

Lawmakers take first deep plunge into proposals to address the drug crisis

Most of the ideas would need funding, and that’s not yet been set

Feb 8, 2024

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PIXABAY

Disability Rights Oregon sues Washington County alleging it fails people in mental health crises

The lawsuit alleges the county’s system routes 911 calls for mental health assistance to police first, which means police are the primary agency that responds

Feb 6, 2024

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Devin Hall, 25, and Alicia Jacobs, 38, outside their tent in Marion Square Park in Salem on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. | BEN BOTKIN/OREGON CAPITAL CHRONICLE

Amid the pain of addiction, few pin their hopes on the government

Oregon politicians want to empower police to make arrests for drug possession again to encourage treatment, but people on the streets say recovery is a choice

Jan 30, 2024

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SHUTTERSTOCK

OHA Ombuds report calls for improvements to children’s behavioral health

Report calls for Oregon to address disparities that prevent children and youth from accessing life-saving behavioral health services

Jan 4, 2024

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OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY

Flavored tobacco ban for Multnomah County set to start on Jan. 1

Nearly 8,000 Oregonians die every year from tobacco-related illnesses, according to the Oregon Health Authority

Dec 19, 2023