September 18, 2019
The
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INSIDE L O C A L N E W S
Week in Review
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New Leader in Justice
Erika Preuitt
to oversee
community
corrections
M ETRO
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R ELIGION
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
O PINION
C LASSIFIEDS
Erika Preuitt, a longtime pro-
bation and parole officer from
Portland’s black community, and
a nationally recognized leader in
community corrections, has been
named the new director of the
Multnomah County Department
of Community Justice.
Preuitt has come up through the
ranks of the department over the
past 25 years. She served as inter-
im director for the last 11 months
and with last week’s appointment
by the Multnomah County Board
of Commissioners, she now of-
ficially oversees the 600-person
department made up of parole and
probation officers, juvenile court
counselors, custody service spe-
cialists, corrections technicians
and administrative staff.
Multnomah County has won
praise for its innovative correc-
tions practices for juveniles and
adults and for its alternatives to in-
carceration. But because of recent
public safety cuts made by the
Oregon Legislature, the depart-
ment is expected to face some of
its most challenging times in the
months ahead.
County officials say Preuitt is
known for fighting to keep case-
load sizes at levels that allow
photo by M otoya n akaMura /M ultnoMah c ounty c oMMunications
Erika Preuitt, a longtime community justice advocate and nation-
ally recognized leader from Portland, is the new director of the
Multnomah County Department of Community Justice.
parole and probation officers the
necessary time to work with peo-
ple involved in the justice system
— focusing on high-risk individ-
uals as well as addressing racial
and ethnic disparities in the public
safety system.
“I have been honored to grow
up in this agency,” Preuitt said
Thursday.
“It gives me a unique perspec-
tive of our strengths and where we
need to improve. I look forward to
working with our beautiful tapes-
try of staff as we implement the
Workforce Equity Strategic Plan,
recover from devastating budget
reductions and affirm our commit-
ment to evidence-based practices,
reducing racial and ethnic dispari-
ties within our system.”
Preuitt grew up in northeast
Portland. She was raised in a fam-
ily entrenched in public service.
c ontinued on p age 5
OLCC Urges Caution on Vape Pens
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Cannabis
retailers, vape
pen users advised
by b everly c orbell
t he p ortland o bserver
With a handful of recent deaths
and hundreds of people becoming
ill from using vape pens, Margo
Amala, owner of Urban Farmacy,
is taking no chances.
“We are scrutinizing every
product on our shelves and asking
clarification from each vendor as
to what’s exactly in their product,”
she said. “We’re taking this pretty
seriously.”
That’s exactly what the Ore-
gon Liquor Control Commission,
which oversees legal cannabis
sales in the state, wants people to
do.
OLCC Executive Director
Steve Marks is asking processors
and retailers to take voluntary
steps to review vaping devices
and cartridges that may contain
additives.
Marks is asking licensed pro-
cessors to report any previously
undisclosed additives, including
Vitamin E oil, tocopheryl acetate
or alpha-tocopherol. Retailers are
asked to review their vaping prod-
ucts and to check with manufac-
turers about ingredients.
Six people nationwide — in-
cluding one in Oregon — have
died of lung disease because of
vaping either marijuana or tobac-
photo by b everly c orbell / co, and more than 450 in 33 states
t he p ortland o bserver have been diagnosed with illness-
es related to vaping, with an aver-
A licensed cannabis retailer in
age of 19 years old.
Portland shows a marijuana
The Oregonian recently report-
vaping pen. Authorities are
ed that Drs. Jason Wells and Da-
warning distributors and
vid Hotchkin of the Oregon Clinic
licensed marijuana processors
warned that “vaping is dangerous”
to scrutinize their vape pen
products for possible harmful
c ontinued on p age 12
additives.