WEEKEND EDITION // Saturday, april 3, 2021
148tH yEar, NO. 119
$1.50
CORONAVIRUS
State’s
marijuana
economy
faces new
challenges
Some see a growing
market under duress
By ZANE SPARLING
Oregon Capital Bureau
They’ve never been higher.
Oregon recreational marijuana sales
have climbed to record highs, but some say
the industry’s woes also have reached an
apex. The difficulties range from an unfa-
vorable federal tax code to a dangerous
crime wave, wildfires and cities and coun-
ties hungry for a larger slice of the tax pie.
“Businesses are still struggling,” said
Kim Lundin, the executive director of the
Oregon Cannabis Association. “High sales
don’t transfer to overall industry success.”
But the marijuana milestone — $1.1
billion in sales in 2020, blowing past the
$795 million benchmark set in 2019 — has
started a battle for cash at the state Capitol
regardless.
State Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, has
advanced legislation that would allow cit-
ies and counties to bump their marijuana
sales tax from 3% to as much as 10%.
photos by Hailey Hoffman/the astorian
Social workers help in the emergency department at Columbia Memorial Hospital.
At Columbia Memorial Hospital,
social workers have a role in care
A recognition of
behavioral health
See Marijuana, Page A6
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
MORE INSIDE
Construction worker tests positive for
virus at astoria High School • a2
County reports new virus cases • a6
Resiliency
station costs
laid out in
Gearhart
Project could exceed $13M
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
GEARHART — City staff laid out the
most complete look at a proposed resil-
iency station at High Point.
A new survey will be conducted to
determine if voters are willing to get
behind what could be a more than $13
million project on North Marion Avenue.
“Ultimately it is up to Gearhart vot-
ers,” City Administrator Chad Sweet told
the City Council during a workshop on
Tuesday.
Along with cost, there are a number of
complications with the High Point site,
City Attorney Peter Watts said. The Pal-
isades Homeowners Association, which
owns a right of way to the property,
opposes the project and has indicated that
they will litigate.
R
ecognizing a gap in men-
tal health treatment on the
North Coast, Columbia Memo-
rial Hospital has placed social work-
ers throughout its network, including
the emergency department, to help
patients in crisis.
The Astoria hospital, like Clatsop
Behavioral Healthcare, law enforce-
ment and social services agencies, has
seen an increase in people struggling
with mental health. The lack of mental
health treatment in the region has been
at issue for decades, but has become
more pronounced since the start of the
coronavirus pandemic.
Columbia Memorial and Provi-
dence Seaside Hospital, the largest
health care providers on the North
Coast, are not designed to treat people
with significant mental health or drug
and alcohol abuse problems. But since
many people in crisis end up in emer-
gency rooms, the hospitals are on the
front lines and are under greater pres-
sure to intervene.
“We can’t just separate behavioral
and physical health out anymore. They
are so intertwined and they impact
each other so greatly,” said Allison
Whisenhunt, a clinical social worker
who serves as Columbia Memorial’s
director of behavioral health, a new
position. The hospital also hopes to
recruit a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
“We partner really closely with
Clatsop Behavioral Health on a lot
of cases. And what we’re trying to
do really is fill any gaps that exist in
the community,” she said. “So it’s not
about competing with anybody else
who’s doing services. It’s really filling
the gaps where people aren’t able to
access services.
“So, for instance, the folks who
don’t have the kinds of insurance that
Hospitals are on the front lines of crisis response.
‘WE CAN’T JUST SEPARATE BEHAVIORAL
AND PHYSICAL HEALTH OUT ANYMORE.
THEY ARE SO INTERTWINED AND THEY
IMPACT EACH OTHER SO GREATLY.’
Allison Whisenhunt | a clinical social worker who serves
as Columbia Memorial’s director of behavioral health
Clatsop Behavioral Health accepts
— trying to help make sure they still
have access to behavioral health sup-
ports as well — has really been the
focus.”
‘There’s always a lot of
scrutiny’
Social workers support the emer-
gency department at Columbia Memo-
rial seven days a week, 10 hours a day,
with a focus on behavioral health.
If there is a behavioral health cri-
sis off hours then Clatsop Behavioral
Healthcare — Clatsop County’s men-
tal health provider — comes in and
helps conduct a behavioral health
assessment. Every morning, social
workers follow up on messages from
the emergency department overnight.
See Social workers, Page A2
See Station, Page A6
Converting motels to housing
Idea in response to wildfires, housing shortage
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
pamplin Media Group
Some state lawmakers want to make it easier to convert hotels to
emergency shelters or low-cost housing.
SALEM — The conversion
of hotels and motels to emer-
gency shelters and low-cost hous-
ing would be eased under a bill
that is halfway through the state
Legislature.
House Bill 3261 would
exclude the conversion of hotels
and motels purchased for emer-
gency shelters or low-cost hous-
ing from land use challenges in
cities and counties. Lawmakers
made federal money available for
such purchases last year under
Project Turnkey, which is over-
seen by the Oregon Community
Foundation.
The state House voted 41 to 12
on Wednesday to send the bill to
the Senate.
See Motels, Page A6