By Chris Hecht
COVID-19 is on the rise in Oregon. People need access to health care now more than ever, and for people with addictions, COVID-19 is a pandemic experienced on top of a health crisis. Oregonians are responding to overlapping public health emergencies — the addiction crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and health disparities stemming from structural racism.
Access to medical care, drug treatment, addiction medicine, overdose prevention and recovery services has been severely impacted by the pandemic. Providers are unable to maintain prior levels of care and struggle to maintain even a minimum stock of overdose prevention supplies throughout the community. Meanwhile, Oregon continues to criminalize drug use, which drives drug users underground, where they are more likely to use drugs alone and overdose. Click here to read more…