Oregon governor directs state police to disrupt fentanyl supply chain

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) said Tuesday that she has directed state police to instigate new strategies to disrupt the fentanyl supply chain and hold sellers accountable.

“I want all Oregonians to know that the state is moving forward with several new fentanyl strategic enforcement and disruption strategies,” Kotek said in the statement.

In one weekend in May, at least eight people in Portland died of suspected drug overdoses, six of them likely related to fentanyl, Portland police said.

Kotek said so far this year, Oregon State Patrol has seized nearly 233,000 fentanyl pills and 62 pounds of powder.

“As we work to cut the supply of fentanyl and hold dealers accountable for selling dangerous drugs, I also remain fully committed to expanding access to critical behavior health services,” she said.

The governor said to revitalize downtown Portland, she plans to increase state police staff to local drug enforcement teams. She will hold trainings to address potential biases in the state justice department and inter-agency patrols to intercept fentanyl, The Associated Press reported.

Last week the Department of Homeland Security unveiled its own new strategy to combat the international and domestic supply of illicit opioids, including fentanyl.

On Tuesday, at the Family Summit on Fentanyl in Washington, D.C., Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department will be spending $345 million in federal funding in 2024, including spending on youth mentorship support and increased access to the overdose-reversal drug, Naloxone.