Open drug use has become so common in Portland, Oregon that children attending one city daycare center cannot go outside to play on many days.
Parents report having to step over used needles as they drop their children off for the day, despite efforts by the school to clean up hazardous waste in the area.
How have things been allowed to get this bad in the city?
FOX News reports:
Drug users outside Portland daycare cause preschool children to play inside for safety: ‘This is awful’
Drug addicts positioned outside a school and a daycare center in Portland, Oregon are causing children to be forced to play inside due to safety concerns, according to a recent report.
“Usually, I do mostly meth,” Violet, a local drug user who often smokes outside of the school, told NBC affiliate KGW. “And this area always has been known to be a heavy drug area,” she said, adding that “they shouldn’t have put a preschool right f—ing there.”
“We don’t want [the children] to be exposed to that because it’s their innocence that we’re defiling,” Violet added.
“Probably the next block is going to be over, and then, two blocks over are going to be the next spot soon,” Violet told KGW, explaining that drug users will find a different place to meet even if police move them away from the area near Saint James Lutheran Church on Southwest Jefferson and 10th Avenue.
“I mean, that sucks, but this sucks too,” another drug user told the outlet about the problem on Portland streets. “They can move if they want, or they can help us get rid of the problem.”
What a sad state of affairs.
"Public drug use is currently not a crime under Oregon law."
Hey, #Portland, this is what you voted for.#ThisIsWhatDemocratsWanthttps://t.co/fQ7iUXFJl3
— Verity Bites Back 🇺🇸 🇮🇱 (@VerityAnneBrown) February 7, 2024
Nothing will change until enough people demand it.