AND IT’S LEGAL –

March 15, 2023 – Headlines in 2022 declared Oregon to be the “worst in the nation” for addiction. But many local experts in behavioral health say state rankings should be taken with a grain of salt. The most often quoted rankings, created by the advocacy group Mental Health America, rely heavily on the responses to an annual survey conducted by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. But since the survey collects information about people’s self-reported drug use, it is likely capturing a combination of different things – regional differences in rates of use, yes, but also regional differences in openness to talking about it.

Still, addiction to substances, a sharp increase in overdose deaths and a lack of public resources dedicated to detox and treatment programs are real problems in Oregon.

Oregon’s substance use disorder treatment system is about half the size it should be, according to a recent study and survey of providers done by the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health. 

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