‘It’s Like a War Zone’: What Happened When Portland Legalized Fentanyl

After a failed experiment with decriminalization, Oregon’s liberal stronghold tries to chart a path out of the fentanyl crisis. Can the city find a balance between care and coercion?
The man at the West Burnside Street bus stop looks stone dead, sprawled out on the sidewalk with his eyes rolled back. Lucky for him, he overdosed on a weekday, just five blocks from the downtown Por…