Bend declares drug addiction a public health crisis

Bend City Council members formally declared addiction a public health crisis at their meeting Wednesday evening.

The proclamation is part of a statewide effort to raise awareness and advocacy for drug addiction treatment.

Eugene, Medford and Portland are also advocating for more funding to fight drug addiction. September is National Recovery Month.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that five people a week die of drug overdoses in Oregon and five people a day die of alcohol-related causes.

According to SAMHSA , Oregon ranks as the worst state for access to mental health and substance abuse treatment.

” Oregon typically ranks in the top 10 in the country, as far as alcohol and drug dependency, but we are 50th in terms of actually having access to mental health and treatment services. That needs to change, ” City Councilor Bruce Abernethy said Thursday.

A 2017 Oregon Health Authority study reported that nearly seven per 100,000 deaths were due to opioid overdoses , and nearly 150 fatal car crashes were alcohol-related.

According to Abernethy, there are treatment centers and services in Oregon, but the demand for help is higher than the supply.

” I think one other thing that people don’t realize is, yes, there are centers here, but what we heard at the meeting was somebody said, ‘ Yeah, there is a two-month waiting list, ‘ ” he said.

Mike Marshall, executive director of Oregon Recovers, echoed those thoughts.

” Currently, in some counties like Coos County and Klamath County, there might be a 2- to 3-week wait in order to get into a treatment program, and that’s just wrong, ” Marshall said. ” We don’t do that if you have heart disease. We don’t do that if you have diabetes. ”

To mark Recovery Month there will be a ‘ Walk for Recovery ‘ in Bend on Saturday, Sept. 7. You can learn more details and register here . The walk will supply information and resources for substance abuse. There will also be walks in Eugene, Medford and Portland in the coming weeks.