From The Oregonian, June 15, 2011
Gil Kerlikowske
A study being released today by the Office of National Drug Control Policy shows 22 percent of Portland’s male arrestees tested positive for opiates in 2010, nearly double the 2007 figure.
READ – ADAM II 2009 Annual Report
The percentage testing positive for methamphetamine also rose sharply since 2007, hitting 20 percent, but the percentage using cocaine dropped significantly.
The study found that nearly half of arrested men tested positive for marijuana, making it the most commonly found drug. And 32 percent tested positive for more than one drug.
The research, looking into links between drug use and crime, sampled men arrested for all types of offenses. It did not test for alcohol.
The Internet and lax prescription writing have expanded access to opiates, said Viccie Boeckel, owner and program director at Ram Clinic in Portland, an addiction center. Young people in particular are increasingly using mixes of prescription drugs such as methadone and oxycodone, she said.
Portland police have observed the opiate trend, too.
“There has been an increase in the availability and therefore the use,” said Lt. Robert King, a Portland Police Bureau spokesman. “Very often the addiction will drive property crime and sometimes violent crime.”
King added that drug-addled suspects are less predictable and cooperative. “When the impulsiveness goes up and judgment is impaired, we have to use higher force,” he said.
Gil Kerlikowske, director of the drug control policy office, said in a news release: “These findings illustrate why we must approach our nation’s drug problem as a public health and safety problem.”
I must say that after being a volunteer chaplain in MCDC, I am not surprised. As someone who has dedicated the rest of my life trying to find answers to very old questions. How can we inspire drug addicts to stop using. The children of today have no HOPE, they have no DREAMS, they find so much contridiction between truth and lie. How can you continue to expect something from nothing. Unless we become the living examples of Truth, Virtue, Values and Love, our children will continue to die. Did you know that as of today the entire youth population of high school students have lost the funding for bus passes to take them to and from school. That breaks my heart. The Portland Youth Commission has been desperately trying to find the funding to keep attending school. What else do we take away and then expect there to not be any problems. What about health care for families whose children smoke. DO You realize how many kids are severly obese and have no self esteem. Drugs allow people not to feel the dispare of financial opression. Imangine being a youth and you are forced to live under the brige. Thousands of Portlands youth are homeless. Please understand, I am fighthing for the rest of my life to help bring TRUTH to Light, so no more children die or are forced to do crime because there is nothing left to live for.
Please contact me for further information, I am heavily connected to the community.