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street roots
Aug. 30, 2013
When trying is half of the battle
It's time to legalize marijuana to
improve quality of life in Oregon
The state of Oregon should legalize
marijuana and open up the market to a wealth
of opportunities for the residents of this state.
It’s time for residents, the media and
politicians around the state to push the
envelope on the issue. It’s time to bring the
conversation into the mainstream.
State officials, including the attorney
general’s office and state treasurer should
begin work on putting together a realistic plan
to create legislation to legalize and regulate
both marijuana and hemp. It’s that simple.
Both Washington and Colorado are set to
gain more than $70
State officials,
million dollars
including the
annually in tax
attorney general's
revenue from
office and state
marijuana for a
treasurer should
range of public
begin work on
safety, education,
putting together a
housing and drug
realistic plan to
treatment
create legislation to
measures.
legalize and regulate
The move will
both marijuana and
also save the state
hemp. It's that
millions of dollars
simple.
in local and state
government
spending on public safety measures and prison
costs, while opening up hundreds of millions
of dollars to a new and emerging business
community. Combating organized crime and
harmful agricultural practices in our state’s
forests is icing on the cake.
For nearly two decades elected officials have
talked about and campaigned on the need for
more revenue statewide and an overhaul of a
burdensome and chaotic tax structure in
Salem. It may be another two decades before
any kind of reform is even possible.
Street Roots believes that the people of
Oregon would not be opposed to a smart and
effective policy, especially if it was geared
towards improving the quality of life for all
Oregonians.
We look to leaders around Oregon to show
courage and to be bold, and to follow in the
footsteps of other states and countries around
the world that understand decriminliazation is
smart and effective policy.
There’s no better time than the present.
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him at
israel@streetroots. org
or follow him on
Twitter @israelbayer.
WHAT DO
YOU THINK?
Send letters to the
editor to the Street
Roots office, 211
NW Davis St.,
Portland, OR 97209,
or e-mail to joanne®
streetroots.org.
The past month we have seen a media
frenzy surrounding homelessness.
That’s why I cringed a little bit when I read
the Willamette Week’s
cover
story
on
hom elessness titled,
“The
Real
World:
Portland.” The author
interviewed ten people
living on the streets and
By Israel Bayer
briefly profiled their
■■■■■■■ h h h m
lives. The story hints
that Portland’s plan to
end homelessness is
failing and that many of the people on the
streets are simply dire.
In one of the interviews the author talks to
Street Roots vendor Michael Vance.
While highlighting some of Michael’s
challenges with mental health, addiction and
living with Tourette’s syndrome — the final
quote the author left readers with was,
“After you use and you get kicked to the curb
so many times and people catch on to you
and you’ve been fucked up for so long, you
start to believe this is the way your life’s
gonna go now, and what’s the point? What’s
the use in trying?”
The reality is Portland hasn’t been
overcome by lawlessness, our community is
doing an amazing job at ending individuals
and families homelessness, and the Michael
Vance I know is trying.
He wakes up every single day at a shelter
and makes his way to Street Roots to socialize
with others and then goes out to sell the
newspaper. He’s been sober for more than
two months. He’s an avid weightlifter who
works out three to four times a week. He
tends to watch over people on the streets
who get picked and preyed upon. He loves
the Seattle Seahawks more anything in the
world.
I t ’s i m p o r t a n t to r e m e m b e r t h a t a y o u n g
person on the streets didn’t grow up wanting
to be homeless. No did he or she want to
endure abusive parents, or to have been
sexually assaulted and missed important
milestones in early childhood development
due to stress, violence and lack of economic
opportunity.
Our elders didn’t wake up one day and
choose to go through a nervous breakdown,
lose everything they’ve ever had in life and
become homeless by choice. It doesn’t
happen.
Are individuals and families experiencing
trauma, addiction and mental health due to
their circumstance on the streets? Is it true
that some young people choose to live under
a bridge, or on the run, instead of engaging
in a system that has completely lost their
trust? Absolutely.
Poverty is hell. It’s tiring. It’s traumatic.
It’s deadly. The idea that anyone is actually
choosing to be homeless or live in poverty is
nonsense. Any responsible person working
on policy, or in the media should understand
this. They should also understand their
words and actions matter and drive public
opinion.
What Portland needs more than anything
right now is a groundswell of community
support, smart policy, elected officials who
show courage, businesses and foundations
that invest wisely and a media engine that
drives a solution-based conversation about
ending homelessness.
“I always feel like I should be doing
something more than I am,” Michael told me
recently. “But the damage that my mind and
body has gone through is real. I’m going to
continue on day-by-day, step-by-step. I may
fall down. I’ll have to get back up. My
progress isn’t going to happen at the pace I
assume it should happen. It certainly isn’t
going to happen at the pace that someone
wants it to happen. I can’t be rushed. I feel
like right now as long as I try to be clean and
sober and to be a better person is all that
matters. Instead of walking up to a dope
dealer and socking him in the mouth, I’m
w r itin g p o e tr y , I w a tc h t h e S e a h a w k s , 1 s e h
Street Roots. I’m doing the only thing I know
how to do to survive and to stay sane. I’m
working to find God.”
I don’t know about you, but it sounds to me
like like Michael is trying. We can do this.
Michael can do this.
P H O T O BY ISRAEL BAYER
503-228-
Fax:503-227-3117
streetroots.org
news.streetroots.org
www.rosecityresource.org.
Vendor orientations are at 1 p.m. every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday at the Street Roots office*.