Drug problem in Oregon? Bend? (Corvallis: sales, crime, neighborhood)

[Atomicdoug]

Why is there such a big drug problem in the Northwest (Oregon/Washington)? I've done some research, it seems that while they've made progress on opiods, the meth problem has grown. Statistically I think WA and OR have high numbers for meth, so I am wondering what the impact this has on communities?

My kids live in Corvallis and my daughter tells me she sees people "tweaking on the streets". With drug addiction comes property crime, and homelessness, so I am wondering how Bend compares to the rest of the state?

Right now living in a small town in MA, that's just not the type of thing I see around here.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Google "west coast homeless problem" sometime.

I am not saying that this is the root of all evils, but it does have a huge impact.

BTW, this IS the "west coast", and things and attitudes are vastly different here compared to the east coast.

Also, Corvallis is a college town, with pretty liberal attitudes.

[Atomicdoug]

Yeah but the question is did drugs lead to homelessness or the other way around? My understanding is that people who were leading lives, holding down a job or in a stable living situation, once they start using (meth, opiates) they end up on the street.

Don't get me wrong, there is a huge opiate problem on the east coast, it's bad in NH, Rhode Island and Cape Cod. There are homeless too. But how can there be people living outside in Bend when its below freezing at night?

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

Google "west coast homeless problem" sometime.

I am not saying that this is the root of all evils, but it does have a huge impact.

BTW, this IS the "west coast", and things and attitudes are vastly different here compared to the east coast.

Also, Corvallis is a college town, with pretty liberal attitudes.

[Hawk J]

Originally Posted by Atomicdoug

Yeah but the question is did drugs lead to homelessness or the other way around? My understanding is that people who were leading lives, holding down a job or in a stable living situation, once they start using (meth, opiates) they end up on the street.

Don't get me wrong, there is a huge opiate problem on the east coast, it's bad in NH, Rhode Island and Cape Cod. There are homeless too. But how can there be people living outside in Bend when its below freezing at night?

Google shows some warming shelters in Bend & surrounding areas.




https://www.google.com/search?source...4dUDCAc&uact=5

[Thom52]

I thought the heavy ....very heavy....control of sudafed type, over the counter meds was greatly reducing the meth cooking issue in Oregon? Trying to get sudafed for a sinus issue takes an act of Congress.

I thought prescription opiods were the main problem now? And the following addiction to heroin.

I would feel more sympathetic with the Street People if they weren't biting the hands that feed them. Property crimes are off the charts in Northeast Bend now. This makes it much harder for the legitimate Homeless that have fallen on hard times and want to work their way out of it.

[Taz22]

Originally Posted by Atomicdoug

Why is there such a big drug problem in the Northwest (Oregon/Washington)? I've done some research, it seems that while they've made progress on opiods, the meth problem has grown. Statistically I think WA and OR have high numbers for meth, so I am wondering what the impact this has on communities?

My kids live in Corvallis and my daughter tells me she sees people "tweaking on the streets". With drug addiction comes property crime, and homelessness, so I am wondering how Bend compares to the rest of the state?

Right now living in a small town in MA, that's just not the type of thing I see around here.

Meth is pretty common in a lot of rural areas in both Washington and Oregon. It’s not hard to pick up on who is tweaking. Skinny, bad/no teeth, twitching, and the blank, dead eyed stare. Both states have pretty liberal attitudes toward drugs and homelessness. The fact that pot is legal here, attracts people from other states. I’m not sure what the jail time for drugs would be, in a state that gives out free needles to shoot up. Probably not much.

In my neighborhood around Christmas, a local meth head was driving and hit a lady and her kid. It’s a sad thing to happen, and the local politicians in office need to change things up. Nothing positive will happen without intervention and enforcing whatever laws that are on the books.

In the meantime, neither meth or homelessness is slowing down. If you are considering a small town move to either state, do your due diligence first. Some towns will be ok and some not. I never heard of people living in a bus until moving here, but it’s not uncommon. It’s the stuff of local culture and ties in with drug use and homelessness.

The impact of meth and drugs in communities encourages many people to have cameras and no trespassing signs. Property crime is a problem, as well as kids who grow up with meth head parents. In this neighborhood, you’ll hear guns firing before dawn, and unless they’re scaring off Bigfoot, hearing someone fire a weapon while it’s dark is scary, because you don’t know what they’re doing.

Every state has it’s own problems, and in Oregon and Washington, it’s meth and homelessness. Maybe grassroots efforts would help, instead of depending on politicians.

[leastprime]

JMO,
its not so much as the attitude of the local citizens, but the weather {?}. Western Oregon and WA have mild climates all year round and one can live OK in a tent. The COL is fairly high but not so high as to be unaffordable for someone who is on welfare-disability. Another issue is I-5, which runs border-to-border. It's the pipeline for drugs (meth, opioids, and other stuff). I-5 is long and you can for the most part avoid city cores where the cops frequent. Add in budget contraints, that limit policing and prisons then you have a problem.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by Thom52

I thought the heavy ....very heavy....control of sudafed type, over the counter meds was greatly reducing the meth cooking issue in Oregon? Trying to get sudafed for a sinus issue takes an act of Congress.

I thought prescription opiods were the main problem now? And the following addiction to heroin.

I would feel more sympathetic with the Street People if they weren't biting the hands that feed them. Property crimes are off the charts in Northeast Bend now. This makes it much harder for the legitimate Homeless that have fallen on hard times and want to work their way out of it.

Almost no meth is 'cooked' in the US anymore, it comes from Mexico in huge quantities and it is of a very high quality and there's so much of it that it's gotten really cheap. A parole agent friend of mine said that in Northern California the street price for meth is $150-$200 an ounce

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by leastprime

JMO,
its not so much as the attitude of the local citizens, but the weather {?}. Western Oregon and WA have mild climates all year round and one can live OK in a tent. The COL is fairly high but not so high as to be unaffordable for someone who is on welfare-disability. Another issue is I-5, which runs border-to-border. It's the pipeline for drugs (meth, opioids, and other stuff). I-5 is long and you can for the most part avoid city cores where the cops frequent. Add in budget contraints, that limit policing and prisons then you have a problem.

I'm not sure mild climates have much to do with meth use, it's very high in states like Minnesota, Iowa and South and North Dakota. What makes it even worse is that there is no medical treatment for meth addiction. A heroin user can successfully stop using with methadone or suboxone but there is nothing similar for meth users, a user who wants to quit is usually referred to NA meetings
https://www.dea.gov/stories/2019/07/...-climb-midwest

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by Taz22

Meth is pretty common in a lot of rural areas in both Washington and Oregon. It’s not hard to pick up on who is tweaking. Skinny, bad/no teeth, twitching, and the blank, dead eyed stare. Both states have pretty liberal attitudes toward drugs and homelessness. The fact that pot is legal here, attracts people from other states. I’m not sure what the jail time for drugs would be, in a state that gives out free needles to shoot up. Probably not much.

In my neighborhood around Christmas, a local meth head was driving and hit a lady and her kid. It’s a sad thing to happen, and the local politicians in office need to change things up. Nothing positive will happen without intervention and enforcing whatever laws that are on the books.

In the meantime, neither meth or homelessness is slowing down. If you are considering a small town move to either state, do your due diligence first. Some towns will be ok and some not. I never heard of people living in a bus until moving here, but it’s not uncommon. It’s the stuff of local culture and ties in with drug use and homelessness.

The impact of meth and drugs in communities encourages many people to have cameras and no trespassing signs. Property crime is a problem, as well as kids who grow up with meth head parents. In this neighborhood, you’ll hear guns firing before dawn, and unless they’re scaring off Bigfoot, hearing someone fire a weapon while it’s dark is scary, because you don’t know what they’re doing.

Every state has it’s own problems, and in Oregon and Washington, it’s meth and homelessness. Maybe grassroots efforts would help, instead of depending on politicians.

I don't think 'liberal attitudes' have much of anything to do with drug use. My sister-in-law lives in rural Missouri, hardly a place with liberal attitudes and she said there are so many people using meth that it's becoming normalized. Missouri has very harsh laws for meth possession or sales. Possession of even a small amount of meth carries a prison term of up to 7 years, second offense is punishable by a prison term of up to 10 years. Sales is 10-30 years but it doesn't deter people from using it.

Drug users lie to themselves constantly, they tell themselves the drug isn't really impacting their life and they convince themselves that they won't get caught...that's why "tough on crime" when it comes to drug users is an expensive exercise in futility. Harsh sentences should be reserved for drug traffickers, not addicts.