Fentanyl seizures by Federal Agents, Oregon State Troopers and the Portland Police Bureau skyrocketed after decriminalization in 2021. The drug seizures listed below were not brought to my attention by news alerts; these were just the articles I stumbled across in the heady days of the wild fentanyl west.

All drugs were decriminalized in February of 2021. Because of a legal loophole, fentanyl possession — of any amount for personal use — was not criminalized in Oregon until the legislature passed a law in June of 2023.

Update 2/20/24: 1,500% increase in Oregonians dying of fentanyl overdose

There was a 28 month window when the Oregon Legislature allowed street-level fentanyl dealing to be traded as an uncontrolled market commodity.

Interstate 5, running from Canada to Mexico, bisects the entire state of Oregon and is part of the Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. This makes a decriminalized state strategically placed for sellers who provide the street drugs for the people who can consume them with minimal consequence of criminal sanctions.