Oregon, My Oregon

KGW, Portland, Multnomah County confirms it will distribute foil and straws for fentanyl smoking

Multnomah County on Friday confirmed reporting from Willamette Week that it will soon begin distributing clean tin foil and straws for street drug users, particularly those who smoke fentanyl.

In addition, the county Health Department said in a statement, it will be distributing "bubbles" and "stems" or glass pipes for people who smoke methamphetamine or crack, as well as "snorting kits" for those who inhale drugs.

The reason for this is fairly simple, MCHD laid out matter-of-factly — fewer people are looking for clean needles to use drugs intravenously, particularly as fentanyl becomes more prevalent than heroin.

"Changes in drugs and in drug use behaviors that began in 2022 have continued, resulting in less effective naloxone distribution and client engagement via the public health harm reduction program," the agency said. "It’s difficult to engage folks who don’t come in."

The county's harm reduction program has seen a 30% decrease in individuals seeking clean syringes; from a peak of 3,367 people in 2019 down to 2,359 in 2022. Overall visits went down almost 61% between 2019 and 2022, from 14,337 to 5,625.

Multnomah County's harm reduction program can and does distribute Narcan to users who come in for supplies, but people don't seem to be coming in for Narcan alone. So they're changing up what kind of supplies they offer.

"By bringing more people into our sites, this increases opportunity for health education, referrals to resources such as (substance use disorder) treatment, and more opportunities for HIV, STI and Hepatitis C testing," the agency said. "Building relationships with people actively using substances also gives our department more insight into emerging public health issues that impact this population. We are able to directly hear from our clients when there are concerning changes to the drug supply, increased wound issues, or other related issues that are of public health concern."

That which you subsidize, you'll get more of.