Well, d'uh; what's the point of legalizing hard drugs if you don't give the poor the means to buy them?

Oregon bill would pay street bums $1,000 a month “to just be you”.

The bill, introduced last month, would establish a People’s Housing Assistance Fund Demonstration Program to give 12 monthly thousand-dollar payments to those suffering from homelessness or who are on the brink of becoming homeless.

“Payments may be used for rent, emergency expenses, food, child care or other goods or services of the participant’s choosing,” the bill states.

“So far, we’ve only attracted 700 squatter camps to Portland”, State Senator Winsvey Campos told FWIW, “so there is obviously a need for more, and this bill will accomplish that. Property is a cisgender, white racist concept, founded on oppression and enslavement, so it has to go. We’re working on burning out the last few neighborhoods of homeowners, but we need to speed up the process if we are to achieve perfect equity and a 100% zero-carbon medal from the WEO. My bill will attract more bums to the Beaver State from away, fund our drug dealers so they can expand to meet the needs of The People, and free up houses presently being occupied by the bourgeoisie — it’ll be a win for all progressive thinkers, and I’m so very excited to put this in motion.”

And how’s that drug legalization program doing? Just fine, if you ask the addicts, 99% of whom have refused treatment for their chosen lifestyle.

Oregon’s decriminalization of hard drugs has “failed,” with less than one percent of users eligible for state-funded treatment admitted to rehab, according to figures from its Health Authority.

The state has plunged $302 million into treatment services since measures reducing personal possession of drugs including heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, LSD and others to a fine in February 2021.

Since then fatal overdoses have skyrocketed, with unintentional opioid overdose deaths jumping from 472 to 739 in 2021.

Data compiled by the Oregon Health Authority showed 16,000 people accessed services for drug treatment in the first year of decriminalization, but only 0.85% of those — equivalent to 136 people ­— actually entered programs to get them off drugs.

… “Fewer than one percent of folks who are engaging in these harmful behaviors are electing to pursue treatment.

… The same public health report revealed it had spent its budget on buying needles to give to addicts to inject safely and Naloxone shots to reverse overdoses. The state also purchased 12 vehicles with mobile exam rooms to inspect addicts as well as distribute “harm reduction supplies” and also invested in a recovery housing motel.