‘We should’ve been doing more earlier:’ Deschutes leaders talk of M. 110; Chang says it didn’t cause fentanyl crisis

(Update: Adding video, comments from Chang and Adair)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- In a conversation with NewsChannel 21, Deschutes County commissioners Phil Chang and Patti Adair shared their current thoughts on one of Oregon's most controversial ballot measures ever, Measure 110.

Commissioner Chang told NewsChannel 21, "Looking at these maps, they show a clear trend that shows fentanyl approaching, converging on Deschutes County in this way. We should've been doing more, earlier."

Commissioner Adair first revealed fentanyl babies being born at St. Charles to the public after getting it confirmed by a Deschutes County Circuit Court judge.

"I meet with almost everybody, and they have a story to share," she said.

According to data from Deschutes County health officials, Southwest Oregon and areas around Portland saw the biggest increases in drug overdose deaths from 2019 to 2021. Both areas saw their overdose rates more than double in the year after voters approved Measure 110, compared to 2019.

"Just because we're a year behind a Lane County or Klamath County doesn't mean that what they're experiencing, we're not going to be experiencing, too," Chang told us.

But according to Chang, the drug crisis arriving in Oregon isn't due to Measure 110, which was passed by Oregon voters in 2020, and went into effect on Feb. 1, 2021.

"We have seen a flood of fentanyl wash across the United States from east to west in the last 10 years," he said. "And we have seen massive increases in fentanyl overdoses and fentanyl deaths."

In just two years, drug overdose death rates more than doubled in Oregon.

Illicit fentanyl was responsible for 48 deaths in the state of Oregon in 2021, a sharp increase from 32 the year prior.

Adair said Wednesday, "That's why I'm really concerned about Measure 110. We've got to do something, it's not working. We're enabling, and people have got to -- they have to make better choices."

Since 2019, Multnomah, Klamath and Jackson counties have seen the biggest spikes in death rates for drug overdoses.

The only county east of Deschutes that saw overdose deaths go up is Umatilla, which jumped from zero deaths in 2019 to 24 in 2021.