As the state abandons decriminalization, treatment grants are going to sheriffs and district attorneys: ‘that might be two or three case managers’

The state of Oregon, which has long struggled with one of the worst drug-addiction crises in the US, last year announced $20m in grants to help connect people to substance-use services.

The funds, the governor and lawmakers said, would go to counties to support a “treatment first” approach, encouraging jurisdictions to get drug users into recovery programs, instead of arresting and jailing them.