September 30, 2023 – Rep. Lucetta Elmer: Representative Elmer Hosts Roundtable on Oregon’s Addiction Crisis
Yesterday, Representative Lucetta Elmer (R-McMinnville) hosted a roundtable on Oregon’s addiction crisis. The roundtable featured several community leaders, including:
- Chief of Police Matt Scales, City of McMinnville
- Captain Sam Elliott, Incoming Interim Yamhill County Sheriff
- Brad Berry, Yamhill County District Attorney
- Lindsey Manfrien, Public Health Administrator at Yamhill County Public Health
- Commissioner Lindsay Berschauer, Chair of the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners
- Mayor Hilary Malcomson & Branden Dross, City Administrator (City of Lafayette)
- Mayor Linda Watkins (City of Carlton)
- Mayor Marianne Thomson (City of Sheridan)
- Mayor Ila Skyberg (City of Willamina)
- Mayor Rachel King (City of Amity)
- Kim Morris, Citizen and McMinnville Community Task Force Leader
“The stories we heard yesterday were heartbreaking – Law enforcement officers telling parents they lost their child to an overdose. Sheriffs’ agencies removing ‘Narcan Saves’ from acknowledgement because they can’t keep up with the number of deputies they would need to recognize. And parents no longer knowing how to talk to their kids about drugs because they have become so commonplace in the State of Oregon,” said Representative Elmer. “These community leaders are truly desperate for change. It is our responsibility to act.”
The feedback provided during the roundtable, included:
- Extending Governor Kotek’s 10-Point Plan to the entire state – not just Portland.
- Recriminalizing drug use, ending public drug use, and mandating treatment.
- Fixing Oregon’s devastating Catch and Release Law (Senate Bill 48).
- Cutting Oregon’s regulatory burdens mandated during the treatment assessment process.
- Separating funding for housing from funding for addiction
Photos of the roundtable are attached to this press release.
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