Tag: oregon

The great bait-and-switch of state assisted suicide laws

Last March, 31-year-old Eileen Mihich was found dead in a room at the Hotel Deluxe in Portland, Ore. Near her body was an empty bottle of the poison pills prescribed specifically for physician-assisted suicide.

Mihich had obtained this concoction from a pharmacy in Mill Creek, Wash., despite not meeting any of the legal criteria to obtain it. She was not terminally ill. She had not seen even one practitioner. She also had serious mental illness that rendered her capacity questionable, and she was not a resident of Washington state.

One year after lodging a formal complaint with the Washington Department of Health, her family has still received no word on how their loved one could have received these deadly drugs.

The incident helps illustrate the classic bait-and-switch nature of the modern assisted suicide movement and the effort to make suicide-affirmation a form of medical care.

The first U.S. state to legalize the practice, Oregon, promised that cases like that of Mihich wouldn’t happen. In the subsequent decades, the assisted suicide lobby has continuously protested too much that no documented case of abuse exists. This nonsense has long been discredited. In fact, the very first woman to die from Oregon’s original suicide law was pushed through the doctor-shopping process despite her likely ineligibility. A litany of other cases of abuse has followed.

Outside the U.S., it is almost satirical how ravenous the system has become for new victims of abusive practices. Recently, multiple outlets have documented how an 81-year-old woman in Canada was offered to be put to death by the state on account of her back pain.

Mihich’s tragic case ought to bring renewed scrutiny to how this flimsy, dangerous system operates in the U.S. Bills to legalize the practice are active in 13 states, and two other states are looking at removing their existing safeguards.

Eileen’s workaround was disturbingly simple and works in all 13 states where suicide-affirming care is legal. She knew she did not meet her native Oregon’s eligibility requirements. So she found a random doctor’s publicly available National Provider Identifier, which she used to forge a prescription. She spoofed that doctor’s email address and submitted the fraudulent application by email to a pharmacy, which signed the prescription.

Eileen picked up the fatal dose shortly thereafter.

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Portland college to host ANTIFA TRAINING on terrorism and radicalization

Lewis and Clark College, a private institution in Portland, Oregon, is hosting an Antifa-affiliated anarchist symposium aimed at teaching individuals how to organize violent direct actions and avoid prosecution in order to effectively fight back against the US government.

The Transformative Action and Abolition Symposium, titled “Bad Trouble” and organized by the school’s Antifa-aligned Prison Abolition Club, is scheduled to run from April 13 to April 15. Antifa is a US-designated terrorist organization.

Journalist Andy Ngo first highlighted the event in a post on X, describing it as “Antifa terrorism and radicalization training.” He noted that attendees are explicitly directed to “wear a mask” and that one session involves reading claims of responsibility from anarchist blogs while learning how to help “comrades” evade arrest. Ngo, senior editor at The Post Millennial, tagged Education Secretary Linda McMahon and US Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, noting that the college receives some federal funding.

The event flyer features radical imagery such as a burning police vehicle with smashed windows, a gas can, flames, bolt cutters, and barbed wire. It asks attendees to “wear a mask please,”  a common tactic used by Antifa militants to evade detection at events.

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Oregon’s Union Crackdown Spreads

The state of Oregon passed a law last year that should outrage every American who believes in the First Amendment.

Not because it bans speech outright. Not because it targets a newspaper or a broadcaster. Because it targets a letter. An email. A text message. A conversation telling public employees they have a constitutional right to opt out of their union.

That’s what Oregon made illegal.

The Freedom Foundation has been communicating with public employees for years. We do it because back in 2018 the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in Janus v. AFSCME that every government employee has a constitutional right to decline union membership and dues — a right workers will never find out about if they’re waiting for their union to inform them of it.

Someone else, most likely the Freedom Foundation, has to do it for them.

Oregon’s HB 3789, which took effect Jan. 1, was written specifically to shut down our outreach activities in that state — and potentially others. Egged on by their union puppet masters, lawmakers in that state approved legislation threatening heavy financial penalties for what the law describes as impersonating a labor union.

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The Pacific Northwest’s Anti-Democracy Progressives

Seattle, which is home to Amazon and Microsoft, currently employs some 193,000 well-compensated Washingtonians working in the tech sector. One major reason that Seattle emerged as the first big tech hub outside of California is obvious: It is the only West Coast state with no state income tax. Its state constitution forbids an income tax. High wage workers and entrepreneurs seeking a piece of the relatively laid back, outdoors-focused Pacific Northwest lifestyle can move to Washington without taking a state-mandated pay cut.

For the progressive Democrats who dominate state politics in the Pacific Northwest, money in the pockets of anyone other than the government and its political allies is wasted. To grab more of it, legislative Democrats in Washington are pushing through an income tax in the guise of a “millionaire’s tax” that would levy a 9.9% tax on incomes over $1 million. Just yesterday, as the “millionaire’s tax” neared the finish line in the Washington legislature, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced he and his wife have relocated from Seattle, where they lived for 47 years, to Miami. Florida has neither a state income tax nor a state income tax masquerading as a “millionaire’s tax.”

The constitutionality of the bill rests on progressives’ expectation that the Washington Supreme Court will completely abandon decades of precedent deeming income taxes unconstitutional. The expectation may not be unfounded: Five of nine justices were appointed by Democratic governors. Democrats also voted down an amendment to forbid applying an income tax to lower income levels, signaling the “millionaire’s tax” is likely to become a “thousandaire’s tax” if Democrats get their way.

What makes this proposed tax truly egregious, however, is its attempt to stop voters from having any say in it. The Democrats’ tax bill includes a necessity clause that precludes a voter referendum that could overturn the new income tax. So long as the majority-progressive-appointed state Supreme Court goes along, progressives will have upended 90 years of constitutionally prohibited income taxes while shielding it from a vote of the people.

Additionally, Washington progressives have taken a brazen step to undermine local governance in the state. The state house just passed a bill giving unelected bureaucrats appointed by the governor the power to remove any elected sheriff in the state based on vague guidelines, overriding local voters’ ability to select their own law enforcement. The move is an effort to exert progressive control of sheriffs in rural parts of the state who have questioned unpopular and difficult-to-enforce laws, such as COVID restrictions and gun regulations.

Not to be outdone by its neighbor to the north, Oregon’s progressive governance is also thumbing its nose at the will of the voters. The Beaver State, which has made itself into an economic backwater, has long levied high state income taxes, driving businesses and people who earn money for a living out of state. (The state’s second largest business, the $12 billion Dutch Brothers coffee chain, left the state last year, taking its corporate tax revenue with it.) The state’s economy, always tenuous, is now crumbling. Oregon’s unemployment rate of 5.2% is third worst in the nation, better than only California (5.5%) and New Jersey (5.4%). Layoffs since the beginning of 2025 are comparable to job losses during the Great Recession.

Oregon progressives charge forward undaunted. The Democratic legislative supermajority voted in February to disconnect Oregon’s tax code from the federal code so the state can continue to tax job-creating business investment at the higher rate eschewed by D.C. Republicans’ Big Beautiful Bill. The disconnect will not help attract the investors needed to stabilize Portland’s cratering downtown real estate market, where values, when buyers can be found, are a fraction of what they were five years ago. Investors recently rated Portland as the worst place in the country to invest in real estate other than Hartford, Connecticut. 

Punitive rates of income taxation are not enough for Oregon Democrats. For the past year, they’ve tried to muscle through the largest tax increase in state history. It is a deeply unpopular package consisting of fuel tax increases to pay for more unionized transportation workers and a doubling of the state payroll tax to fund public transportation – even though the state is shedding jobs at an historic rate and such a massive payroll tax will only make things worse.

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Oregon moves to penalize landlords who reveal tenants’ immigration status

Oregon lawmakers have approved a bill that would allow tenants to collect up to twice their monthly rent in court if landlords disclose their immigration status, the latest move by the state to expand protections for illegal aliens.

According to The Oregonian, House Bill 4123 passed the Oregon Senate Monday in a 24–3 vote and now heads to Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk. If signed into law, the measure would impose financial penalties on landlords who “knowingly” release confidential tenant information, including details about immigration or citizenship status, Social Security numbers, and medical or disability records. Under the proposal, tenants whose protected information is disclosed could sue to recover damages equal to two months’ rent.

The legislation builds on a 2025 Oregon law that already prohibits landlords from discriminating against tenants based on immigration status. That law also bars landlords from sharing or threatening to share a tenant’s citizenship information in order to harass, retaliate, or intimidate them. However, it did not include a set financial penalty for violations, instead leaving tenants to pursue legal remedies through the courts.

State Sen. Dick Anderson, R–Lincoln City and vice chair of the Senate Committee on Housing and Development, called the measure a “simple, common-sense” step to protect privacy. “This is a balanced approach that protects tenant privacy without burdening housing providers,” Anderson said during floor debate.

Landlord groups also signaled support after amendments clarified what information can still be shared. The bill allows landlords to provide routine contact details, such as phone numbers or email addresses, for maintenance and utility coordination. It also permits disclosure of information when required by court order, during affordable housing compliance audits, or when conducting background and credit checks.

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Oregon Could Vote to Ban Hunting and Fishing – Proposed Law Would Classify Both as Cruelty to Animals

A petition to ban hunting and ranching in Oregon is nearing the number of signatures needed to be placed on this fall’s ballot.

David Michelson, the organizer of Initiative Petition 28, said supporters have gathered about 105,000 of the 117,713 verified signatures needed by July 2, according to Fox affiliate KPTV.

“If it makes it on the ballot and is approved by voters in November, the protections that currently apply to pets such as dogs and cats would extend to wild animals, livestock, and animals used in research,” the outlet reported. “Supporters call the proposal the PEACE Act, short for People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions. Supporters say the measure is intended to protect animals from abuse, neglect, and killing.”

The proposed law reportedly has exceptions for veterinarians and for those who kill animals in self-defense.

Michelson told the NBC affiliate KOIN-TV, “We really want to make Oregon the first state to vote on something like this.”

“We are aware that it’s unlikely 50 percent of Oregonians are ready right now to move away from killing animals,” he added. “But we want to get that conversation out there. So that we can hopefully move in that direction.”

Amy Patrick with the Oregon Hunters Association told KPTV, “I’m hopeful that Oregonians will not vote ‘yes’ on this. I’m hopeful that whether you’re in an urban region or a rural region, you understand what makes Oregon great.”

“And part of that is our wildlife. And part of that is our economy that comes from our farming and ranching,” she continued. “And that folks will really, really delve into what this [proposal] does and how this is going to affect us not just in the abstract. So if you’re not a hunter or you’re not a rancher or a farmer, don’t think that this is not going to affect you in your day-to-day life.”

An Oregon State University report issued in February 2025 stated that cattle ranching makes up a significant portion of the state’s economy, contributing over $900 million annually.

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Oregon Lawmakers Consider Banning Marijuana Edibles With More Than 10 Milligrams Of THC

Oregon lawmakers are considering a bill to prohibit the sale of individual edibles that have more than 10 milligrams of THC.

The proposal, Senate Bill 1548, comes as lawmakers grapple with responding to increasing reports of children seeking medical attention after consuming edibles resembling cookies, brownies and gummies. In 2023, children aged 0 to five made up one-third of all cannabis-related cases reported to the Oregon Poison Center.

And in May, experts recommended lawmakers implement a THC cap to cannabis products, similar to alcohol and tobacco, as data shows most Oregon youth believe there’s little to no risk in smoking marijuana once a month.

“We need to reckon with this a little bit,” said Sen. Lisa Reynolds, a Portland Democrat and pediatrician who chairs the Senate Early Childhood and Behavioral Health Committee. The committee met Tuesday morning for a public hearing on the bill.

Reynolds said the topic is of particular interest to her because she believes her brother’s habitual marijuana use in the ’70s contributed to his admission into psychiatric hospitals nearly 50 times throughout his life. He now lives in a nursing home with severe schizophrenia, she said.

Four doctors testified in favor of the bill, including Dr. Rob Hendrickson, the medical director of the Oregon Poison Center. Hendrickson shared an example of a toddler he cared for recently who consumed two muffins that contained 50 milligrams of THC each. Within an hour, the child turned blue and unconscious. She had a seizure and was put on life support for 36 hours.

There’s strong evidence that the policy would reduce child poisonings, according to Dr. Julia Dilley, a Multnomah County epidemiologist who has been leading research on the public health effects of cannabis legalization in Oregon and Washington.

Oregon’s bill is similar to a 2017 Washington law requiring that single servings of edibles don’t exceed 10 milligrams. That law was associated with 75 percent fewer hospitalizations and half as many poisonings reported to poison centers, Dilley told the committee.

Four people in the cannabis industry testified in opposition to the bill, including business owners and cannabis manufacturers who said many products already have child-resistant packaging, as well as meet marketing and advertising standards to make sure products aren’t attractive to children.

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Oregon Teen Arrested in Connection with Alleged Plot to Behead ICE Agents as “Trophies”

Rayden Coleman, 18, a resident of St. Helens, Oregon, was arrested on February 4, 2026, in connection with an alleged plot to carry out violent attacks against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

A manifesto found during his arrest, for a group called ‘Cascadia Rangers Coalition’, described intentions of beheading agents to use as ‘trophies.’

According to multiple news reports and court documents from early February 2026, prosecutors allege that Coleman planned to kill ICE agents, behead them, and use the heads as proof to recruit others on the Warm Springs reservation in an effort to start a separatist movement or civil war.

Oregon Live reports that Coleman is facing multiple charges, including one count of second-degree attempted assault (or attempt to commit a felony), and six counts each of unlawful manufacture and possession of a destructive device.

Authorities discovered the plot after roommates and acquaintances reported his statements and manifesto, which expressed anger over ICE actions during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement. He allegedly told acquaintances about his violent plans, bought an assault rifle, and started making Molotov cocktails.

He was arrested during a high-risk traffic stop in the parking lot of an assisted living facility where he worked. Authorities found Molotov cocktail materials, weapons, surveillance gear, and evidence of payments for an AR-style rifle in his car.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The manifesto, written following the actions by federal agents in Minneapolis, allegedly launched plans to form a separatist state of “Cascadia,” according to prosecutors.

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12,000-Year-Old Discovery in an Oregon Cave Reveals First Evidence of a “Complex” Ancient American Technology

Two small pieces of animal hide recovered from an ancient dwelling place within a cave in Oregon could represent the earliest known evidence of sewing among America’s early inhabitants.

The remarkably well-preserved artifacts include portions of hide stitched together with handwoven cord and believed to have been crafted more than 12,000 years ago.

If confirmed, this possible evidence of sewn materials could offer archaeologists a rare look at the emergence of complex technologies employed by America’s early inhabitants to ward off the extreme temperatures that still prevailed during the final years of the last Ice Age.

A Discovery at Cougar Mountain Cave

The discoveries were made within Cougar Mountain Cave, an ancient rock shelter in Oregon’s Great Basin. This vast region is best known for its arid landscape and sagebrush valleys, which lie between isolated mountains that have helped craft the very unique ecosystems that were home to significant prehistoric human activity.

An international research team, led by Richard Rosencrance of the University of Nevada and Katelyn McDonough of the University of Oregon, reported their discovery of what appears to be cordage, bone needles, and wooden artifacts alongside remnants of botanical materials in a recent paper featured in Science Advances.

The discovery of artifacts made from such materials that date to this early period of North American occupation is extremely rare, since they are highly perishable, leaving many questions about what kinds of garments and cordage were employed by some of the earliest arrivals in the New World.

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Model City: Portland’s Journey From Symbol of Chic to Shabby

In December, bestselling author and humorist David Sedaris wrote a New Yorker magazine essay about a recent trip to Portland, Oregon. While on a walk to a donut shop, he “lost count of the strung-out addicts I passed on my way” before eventually encountering four homeless people huddled around an empty baby carriage and smoking drugs right on the sidewalk. Moments later, a dog belonging to one of the addicts rushed out and bit him. 

Following the incident, Sedaris, a former methamphetamine addict himself, was struck by the fact that most people in Portland didn’t seem concerned about the state of the city – even the medical worker who treated him appeared more concerned with the dog’s well-being than what had happened to him: 

I mean, how hard should it be to get a little sympathy when an unleashed dog bites you? What if I were a baby? I wondered. Would people side with me then? What if I were ninety or blind or Nelson Mandela? Why is everyone so afraid of saying that drug addicts shouldn’t let their dogs bite people? Actually, I know why. We’re afraid we’ll be mistaken for Republicans, when, really, isn’t this something we should all be able to agree on? How did allowing dogs to bite people become a Democratic point of principle? Or is it just certain people’s dogs? If a German shepherd jumped, growling, out of one of those Tesla trucks that look like an origami project and its owner, wearing a MAGA hat, yelled, “Trumper, no!!!,” then would the people in my audience be aghast?

That one of America’s most progressive cities has become a laughingstock in one of the country’s more progressive magazines is a sign of Portland’s ongoing troubles. Like other big cities with major challenges, such as Chicago and San Francisco, Portland boasts many lovely areas and vibrant neighborhoods. But it is also defined by a range of pervasive problems – including crime, homelessness, drug addiction – that are less the consequences of modern society than self-inflicted wounds created by ineffective policies. If Portland stands out from other beleaguered cities, it is because its decline has been so swift.

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