This is the best summary I could come up with:

Ms. Kotek said officials hoped to restore a sense of safety for both visitors and workers in the city’s beleaguered urban core, which has seen an exodus of key retail outlets, including REI, an institution in the Pacific Northwest.

Oregon voters in 2020 approved the nation’s first law decriminalizing possession of small amounts of hard drugs, including fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamines.

In the meantime, cities around the country have been struggling to manage both widespread homelessness and an overdose crisis spurred by the rapid spread of fentanyl, a particularly addictive drug that is both cheap and deadly.

Tera Hurst, the executive director of the nonprofit Health Justice Recovery Alliance, said the focus should be on providing people access to services.

The arrival of fentanyl and a potent new methamphetamine has brought new challenges with Oregon’s more open drug policies, including people dealing with deeper addiction and mental health struggles than before, said Dr. Andy Mendenhall, the president and C.E.O.

Tents cover the sidewalks in some places, with some people lying motionless near the street and others exhibiting clear signs of mental illness, a scene that Mr. Mendenhall said can leave visitors feeling unsafe.

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