Drug addicts in Oregon have come up with a scheme that sees them using their food stamps to buy cases of water which they then immediately empty out in order to obtain a 0.10 cents bottle deposit to then buy drugs with.
Video footage shot in a parking lot on Portland sees one group of people with shopping carts full of pallets of bottled water, only to have them empty the contents out on the ground.
The alleged addicts will then return to the supermarket from where they acquired the bottled water to obtain a recycling refund.
A person purchasing a 24-pack of water bottles with food stamps can generate $2.40 within a matter of minutes, with the sums quickly adding up.
One major issue in Portland is how accessible the drugs are becoming. People can pay as little as $1 for a fentanyl pill, compared to a year ago, where dealers would charge up to $20.
Drug addicts have devised a scheme where they use food stamp benefits to buy cases of bottled water which they empty out to obtain a 10 cent bottle deposit
Footage shows groups of people in a parking lot in Portland with shopping carts full of bottled water, only to dump the contents on the ground
A taxpayer funded Oregon Trail Card is used to purchase the water which is then tipped out and the bottle returned for a 0.10c refund
The simple ruse was also explained on social media by local vlogger Pdx.Real.
‘Daily in our metro area, the taxpayer funded Oregon Trail Card is being used to ‘purchase’ free water, that is dumped out just outside stores, and bottles are redeemed for bottle deposit refund within minutes at. This isn’t helping the addict or the community.
‘The state knows this is taking place and continues to allow it. This fraud isn’t possible with federally issued WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) cards because the cards don’t pay for bottle deposit. Oregon should follow suit. If you see this report it to the state of Oregon. Do not stay silent.’
The water is purchased using an Oregon Trail card which is loaded with Food Stamps
Deaths caused by fentanyl in the US surged in the 2010s. At the start of the decade, 2,666 Americans died of a fentanyl overdose. This figure shot up to 19,413 by 2016. Covid made the situation worse, with a record 72,484 deaths recorded in 2021
Portland residents are calling for city leaders to take action.
‘It’s not like these people are evil,’ said Doug Richards to KOIN. ‘They’re out of their mind — whether it’s drugs or mental illness, it’s really disturbing’
‘You can’t walk a block without running into a tent. It’s impossible.’
Residents living in other parts of the state are now also documenting similar scenes.
One man near the state capital, Eugene, was captured on video pouring three cases of water onto a street in order to get the bottle deposit for drugs, a witness claimed.
A woman filmed the man outside a Walmart in Springfield, Oregon in the summer standing in front of a shopping cart.
In the video, the man can be seen to be emptying water bottles on the ground.
‘I saw this man purchase three cases of water at Walmart and walk across the parking lot to the bottle dispensary and start dumping the water onto the street,’ she stated.
According to the woman, the man poured out the water to get money for the bottles.
‘In Oregon, we have a $0.10 deposit return on almost all drinkable items,’ she said.
The woman also claimed that the man was going to use the money for drugs.
‘He is a known drug addict,’ the woman can be heard saying in the video. ‘This man lives in my neighborhood,’ she added.
According to the woman, the man poured out the water to get money for the bottles. The woman also claimed that the man was going to use the money for drugs
An Oregon man was captured on video pouring three cases of water onto a street in order to get the bottle deposit for drugs, a witness claimed
Last week, police seized rainbow fentanyl from a Portland motel room as part of a major drug trafficking sting. The suspect is believed to be part of a ring responsible for bringing large amounts of the narcotics into Oregon.
During the raid, police found more than two kilograms of rainbow-colored fentanyl packaged and ready to be given to people on the streets – as well as 393 grams of crystal meth and 49 grams of cocaine.
This discovery is feared to be just the tip of the iceberg. Law enforcement is desperately trying to cut off major illicit distributors of the drug trade coming from Mexico.
But despite the breakthroughs in individual cases, despairing police officers in Portland admit they see ‘no end in sight’.
Last week, police seized rainbow fentanyl from a Portland motel room as part of a major drug trafficking sting (file photo)
One man smokes fentanyl while another slumps next to him. A major issue in Portland is how accessible the drugs are. People can pay as little as $1 for a fentanyl pill, compared to up to $20 a year ago
A man smokes fentanyl on the street. The deadly drug is typically crushed, then heated on foil with the vapor inhaled through a tube
Pictures show users zombied-out, bent and drooping over themselves in the middle of the day, while others collapse in building entrances surrounded by paraphernalia.
One Portland man, down on his knees, was seen smoking fentanyl as another held the crushed deadly drug inside a heated tinfoil – before inhaling the vapor through a tube.
Sideways in the city are often littered with tents, partially concealing people smoking and injecting drugs, before they curl over in a trance-like state. Clutching a pipe to smoke the deadly drug, another addict was seen flopped over on himself next to a suitcase and backpack.
Lieutenant Christopher Lindsey of Portland Police, who believes the numbers in his city are only going to climb, said last week that there were 156 overdose deaths in 2022 – compared to 135 in 2021 and 80 in 2020.
He told KATU: ‘It has gotten massively worse. Just as an example, a year ago when I was in the position a fentanyl pill would go anywhere from 10 to 20 dollars a pill. A year later people are paying one to two dollars a pill.
‘I am worried. I am concerned that it could get worse. I’m not saying that it is going to get worse but if you look at the trend it’s been getting worse for a few years now and I don’t see any end in sight.’
Fentanyl, a highly addictive damaging drug, is causing a crisis on the city’s streets. Two people are seen slumped over on the street
Clutching a pipe to smoke the deadly drug, a man is seen flopped over next to a suitcase and backpack. Cops in Portland have admitted they see ‘no end in sight’ for the crisis
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