Portland receives more national media attention this weekend, thanks to a “Vice” segment that airs Sunday, May 21, on Showtime. Unfortunately, the report focuses on how the city is an example of, as the segment is titled, “The Other Drug Crisis,” in which a highly addictive form of meth is flowing into Portland, contributing to a mental health emergency.
In “The Other Drug Crisis” segment of the documentary series, correspondent Paola Ramos begins her report in Mexico, at a meth lab controlled by a powerful drug cartel. The lab is producing P2P meth, a new, cheap and harshly addictive version of meth. A worker says that 90 percent of the materials needed to produce the meth are available locally, and another 10 percent come from China.
This “super meth,” as the report says, is flooding into U.S. cities, including Portland, where it is associated with homelessness, mental health issues, and addiction. Ramos comes to the Rose City, where she rides a bike along with Portland police officers, who interact with people on the street who are apparently using drugs.
It’s not a flattering look at Portland, as the camera captures images of homeless people in tents, and others who act like they’re under the influence of drugs.
“Meth is everywhere here,” Ramos says. One of the police officers says the situation seems like it’s getting worse.
Making the point that this cheap, addictive form of meth is overwhelming the system, Ramos talks with an OHSU addiction specialist who says there isn’t enough research yet to show how P2P meth affects the brain, and how it compares to older forms of meth. Ramos also interviews meth users, including one who wants to enter treatment for a third time to try and get clean, because the meth on the streets now makes people “crazy,” and suffer from hallucinations.
Ramos suggests that the meth crisis isn’t being reported as the emergency it is, as media and government have focused more on the opioid epidemic. Ramos also interviews Sharon Meieran, an emergency room doctor who is also a Multnomah County Commissioner. Meieran says that there was a time when use of the older form of meth seemed to be declining. But the new form of meth, along with fentanyl, are making the problem worse, Meieran says.
Related: Portland’s escalating drug overdoses: What we know
“We are definitely at the heart attack phase of the methamphetamine crisis,” Meieran says.
The Portland segment is in the second half of the 30-minute “Vice” episode, titled “The State of Israel & The Other Drug Crisis,” which airs at 8 p.m. Sunday, May 21, on Showtime. You can stream the series via Paramount + with Showtime, which offers a seven-day free trial.
— Kristi Turnquist
503-221-8227; kturnquist@oregonian.com; @Kristiturnquist
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