Why Isn’t There an Overdose Kit Stocked Behind Every Bar in Portland? | Eater Portland

"Tucked on SE Morrison among places like Dig a Pony and Creepy’s, I found a red-and-orange-hued watering hole with pinball machines and photos of famous 20th-century rockers on the walls where you can order a drink and also pull a fentanyl test kit from a small clear bowl on the counter; a QR-code sticker stuck to the cap directs visitors to testing instructions and the jar reads, “Test your drugs anonymously.” In Portland this setup is almost unheard of, but Star Bar has already started providing FentCheck’s fentanyl test strips after owner Josh Davis connected with the Bay Area nonprofit, and Davis says he wants more industry workers around the city to support harm reduction rather than treating his bar as an anomaly. When FentCheck requested it, Davis also agreed to keep Narcan behind the bar and reached out to Haven Wheelock at Outside In to learn about accessing and using naloxone, a conversation that underscored how difficult and expensive Narcan can be to obtain in Oregon despite not requiring a prescription." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden