The commissioners did not answer the last question about advisory board appointments. Here is today's email to the commissioners and Dr. Berry:
Dear Commissioners and Dr. Berry,
I’m concerned that the Opioid Gaps Report will measure participation rather than progress out of addiction. The county’s current strategy appears to validate existing policy by highlighting encounters and services delivered, while offering little clarity on the outcomes that matter most — how many people enter treatment, complete it, and stay sober. Given that overdose deaths are declining nationally, what evidence does the County have that local policy is responsible for changes here, and why were opioid settlement funds used for an internally generated report instead of an independent evaluation? At what point will the County shift from expanding programs to publicly tracking whether those programs are actually helping people leave addiction behind? I appreciate your time and look forward to clear answers.
The following is a modeled good-governance response from the perspective of an individual commissioner who attended the January 20, 2026, Board of Health meeting. It clarifies the scope of the Opioid Gap Report, acknowledges governance gaps, and outlines process-appropriate steps to improve outcome-based accountability without speaking for the full Board or directing staff.
Dear Constituent,
Thank you for the specificity of your questions. They raise a legitimate governance concern, and after reviewing the materials presented at the January 20, 2026, Board of Health meeting, I want to respond directly and completely.
Participation versus progress out of addiction:
The January 2026 project update explicitly states that the Opioid Gap Report is not a research study and is not designed to evaluate the effectiveness of specific opioid use disorder interventions or strategies (Clallam County Health & Human Services [CCHHS], 2026). Instead, it is framed as a planning and prioritization tool intended to inventory services, identify gaps, and align future funding decisions with Washington State Department of Health–approved uses of opioid settlement funds.
As a result, the report measures system activity and capacity, not recovery outcomes such as treatment initiation, completion, or sustained sobriety. It should not be interpreted as evidence that current strategies are working—or failing.
Attribution and overdose trends:
With respect to declining overdose deaths, the County does not currently have evidence sufficient to establish causal attribution between local policy decisions and observed trends. Overdose mortality is influenced by multiple factors beyond local control, including changes in drug supply, reporting practices, treatment availability, and national trends. Without an evaluation framework designed to test attribution, correlation alone cannot support claims of policy effectiveness (RTI International, 2024).
Use of opioid settlement funds:
Settlement guidance allows opioid settlement funds to be used for planning and system assessment, which is how the Opioid Gap Report has been framed. That use is permissible. However, national best-practice guidance emphasizes that planning tools should not substitute for independent outcome evaluation, particularly when the same institutions that design and operate programs also generate the analyses used to justify continued or expanded funding (National Association of Counties [NACo], 2024; RTI International, 2024). The distinction between planning and evaluation has not been made clear enough in public discussion, and I agree that this lack of clarity has contributed to understandable concern.
When to shift to outcome-based accountability:
From a governance perspective, outcome tracking should precede—or at least accompany—decisions to expand programs. Clallam County already maintains surveillance and reporting mechanisms intended to inform intervention and evaluation, not merely describe trends (CCHHS, n.d.; CCHHS, 2020). Good governance now requires explicitly defining what “success” means beyond participation, identifying which recovery-oriented outcomes matter, and reporting those outcomes publicly on a regular basis.
What I will do as an individual commissioner:
As an individual commissioner who attended the January meeting, and acting within my authority, I will take the following steps:
1. Clarify the record
I will raise, in open meetings, the importance of clearly describing the Opioid Gap Report as a planning and prioritization tool, not an evaluation of program effectiveness.
2. Separate planning from evaluation
I will request that the Board discuss outcome measurement and evaluation as a distinct governance topic, rather than implicitly folding those questions into the Gap Report.
3. Press for outcome-based reporting
I will request that the Board discuss what would be required to move toward regular, recovery-focused outcome reporting, including which outcomes staff believe could meaningfully reflect progress out of addiction.
4. Advocate for evaluation capacity
I will advocate that future use of opioid settlement funds include dedicated evaluation capacity, potentially including independent or third-party evaluation, consistent with national best practices (NACo, 2024; RTI International, 2024).
5. Maintain the core accountability question
In open meetings, I will continue to ask: What evidence do we have that our local policies are helping people leave addiction behind, and how would we know if they were not? If that question cannot be answered clearly, governance requires reassessment before further expansion.
I cannot act unilaterally, and I do not speak for other commissioners. But I do have a voice at the table, and I intend to use it to insist on clarity, transparency, and outcome-based accountability consistent with the public trust.
Respectfully,
Commissioner
Clallam County Commissioner
References
Clallam County Health & Human Services. (n.d.). Making “opioid overdose” a notifiable condition in Clallam County [PDF]. Unpublished document obtained via public records request.
Clallam County Health & Human Services. (2020, April). Clallam County opioid surveillance dashboard (Version 6, Edition 1) [PDF]. Unpublished document obtained via public records request.
Clallam County Health & Human Services. (2026, January). Clallam County opioid gap report: Project updates [PowerPoint slides]. Unpublished document obtained via public records request.
RTI International. (2024). Supporting decision makers using opioid settlement funds: How to monitor, evaluate, and track the impact of opioid settlement spending [Report].
Bottom line: People with no desire to help themselves cannot be helped. While addiction is horrible and sobriety is difficult, as Chelsea Jones shows us, it can be achieved if the addict makes the choice. Seems to me that a huge amount of scarce and dwindling public resources are expended on an extremely small percentage of county residents, many of whom refuse to make the choice and contribute little positivity to the community. Giving them boofing kits and other drugs and paraphernalia at taxpayer expense seems to be a way to help them refrain from making that difficult choice to become sober.
Reducing homelessness and substance abuse is essential to public safety and economic development. Clean, well-managed public spaces build community pride and signal to businesses that their investments will be protected. People currently driving high public costs through crime, addiction, indigent defense and court and jail use can become contributors to the local economy if policies empower recovery instead of enabling dependency. Our jails and prisons should be preparing people to fill county workforce gaps - like hospitality and food service - and succeed after release. These jobs often pay more than Recompete targets once tips are included.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your efforts.
Unfortunately we live in a place where most elected officials worry more about finding “free” money and what the newest world trend is than what would help their constituents.
The notion we could transfer the drug incarceration problem to another bureaucracy was harebrained. The current "outpatient" model has been devastating to our community.
Clearly, the "outpatient" model needs to be financially supported by the "outpatient" industrial complex, because they have assaulted the property owner to create a bloated bureaucracy and a public nuisance problem that 4PA has to combat.
It has been a disaster to think that you could serve up a Kevorkian diet without an institution of Russian weight-lifter types to be a deterrent against the damage to the public and themselves.
They also mixed the mental health problem with a drug problem. This is not only destructive to those mentally challenged and leaving them without the structured, involuntary care many desperately need, but it also shields addicts from accountability, turning streets into open-air asylums where neither group gets real treatment, only enabling. The result is more overdoses, more violence, and more despair for everyone. We need separate systems: secure mental health facilities with actual authority for the severely ill, and a return to enforced sobriety and consequences for addiction, not this deadly experiment in "compassion" that punishes the rest of society.
LAST WEEK "OPPRESSION OLYMPICS" THIS WEEK "OPEN AIR ASYLUM'
Only one thing is for sure: The powers that be are utterly uninterested in helping anyone except themselves — more jobs at PBH, NOHN, OMC, ReDiscovery and the Clallam Health Department. That’s their metric. All the funding, all the counting only adds up to one thing, numbers they can parade to justify and create more social service jobs.
Excellent article, Jake! We have to keep questioning the motives of our County leaders, because the basis of their policies defy common sense. Thank you for asking the real questions and for providing resources for the public to review. I appreciate your transparency and engagement with us.
Jake, I'm getting off this particular topic. I hate even writing this, but I'm confused because there are two different blog sites you carry. Jumping back and forth makes it difficult to blend together "things". What I would like is your stated "on point goals" and mostly posted on CCWD as this site has the biggest viewers and readers. If I'm getting confused, there must be others. Fund drives are not really advertised, why not? I totally believe you should be on the 2027 Clallam County Commissioner Board but the readers are pushing for you more than you are pushing for yourself. Boy, am I going to be in trouble for this from supporters (I'm one of your biggest) I think what I'm saying is I need to hear a hard stance.
Do you believe that Harm Reduction, measured by the increase or decrease in yearly overdose deaths, is a meaningful sign of success that warrants more investment? Or do you believe it is time to invest in programs that have proven not only to lower death rates but help move people to chose to abandon the addiction and return to engaged and productive life. I ask you to question those boards that are investing in Harm Reduction to show you examples of how their investment has returned results.
I would like to see the number of homeless people decrease and numbers of substance abusers decrease and our streets returned to safer places for all of us. This would seem to be a priority of those of you interested in good governance assigning responsibility. How about asking how many individuals have you helped choose sobriety? And how many people has your program placed in recovery plans?
Good governance would suggest that your answers thus far have shown your priorities have leaned toward your own recognition by the boards you belong to and political gain, rather than the interests of the greater community of which you belong and purport to represent.
The commissioners indicating that they needed a $25,000 fund to look at the results of how harm reduction is working out. Actually they just are grasping for some justification to keep throwing money at the problem. I worked for Seattle/King County Health Dept establishing dental related programs. Every week we were able to add all our contacts, dental exams, number of students seen etc on a one page document I created with a fill in the blanks. Our numbers showed outcomes, education and intervention and exams annually 30,000 K-12
public school students. This was before we had access to computers. I’m only sharing this because the county seems so hung up in proving their data has a positive outcome.
People move, demographics change. It doesn’t take much of an anomaly one year to
change a pattern . Thinking that fewer deaths have anything to do with harm reduction is me thinking Seattle is plaque free because we handed out toothbrushes. The commissioners should consult with experts and researchers (like Jake) before making assertions.
I for one would like to know how many of these drug challenged folks have been offered to go to the MAT clinic that the county absolutely had to have? I really would love to see some numbers.
You have to put the proper tools in place to help people with these addictions not just give out harm reduction. It only escalates the problem.
If you ask me the CC Commissioners all got participation, trophies, and Pats on the back when they were in school.
Not sure if you've ever listened to a health department board meeting, but it's unmistakable when the Jamestown Corporation representative speaks what's being protected.
We readers continue to find those justifications for actions that start with a desired conclusion and then defend the actions to support the chosen end result.
The widely cited, though likely mis-attributed, quote is:
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". Often incorrectly attributed to Albert Einstein, the phrase is actually believed to have originated from author Rita Mae Brown in her 1983 novel, Sudden Death.
I choose this quotation to highlight the recent discussions on Harm Prevention and Homelessness. Another observation is the application of research activity to whenever the researcher has started their investigation with a preconceived conclusion to confirm their research activity.
Key Procedural Principles
• Independent Review: Research protocols should be reviewed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee.
• Scientific Validity: The study must be designed to yield reliable, valid, and replicable results.
• Competence: Maintaining and improving professional competence and expertise.
• Legality: Adhering to relevant laws, institutional policies, and governmental regulations.
These principles ensure that research is not only technically sound but also ethically responsible, protecting both participants and the integrity of the scientific process.
What we are seeing today is not success, but justification.
Something similar to the present actions is trying to justify giving alcohol to an alcoholic and then declaring success when the person passes out. “He stopped drinking!”
Harm Prevention is not working, but we see claims of success because there are reductions in deaths. They stopped dying, but are still addicted and drug-dependent. Give them more drugs! What have we gained? We think providing expensive housing is a solution for homelessness, but too many examples refute these claims. Dependency remains.
A desired goal for all these problems is individual independence, the freedom from addiction. Have we succeeded in meeting this goal?
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
To them its a living wage job and a monetization of an "open air asylum" model. A model with kickbacks and pro quid...A powerful consortium. It feeds the Oppression Olympians competing in the "Oppression "Olympics."
Simply delaying death as a strategy in a death with dignity, or right to die, state is inconsistent policy. Without naloxone the population of death seekers shrinks. I believe those consequences are clear, even to drug users. Don't deny their rights.
Great reality check Jake. Your interest and journey for this subject clearly predates your decision to run for office, but if I was a betting person I would bet that part of your decision to run was as a result of this topic. Some will confuse your intentions, I've met you and I know the truth.
What we're seeing is the pivot the machine and it's controllers, are making to keep the money flow intact. That is sick and depraved given this is all wrapped as caring for the addicted. They shouldn't worry though if the program rightfully goes the way of the Dodo. Their skills are perfect for used car sales jobs.
Great article and podcast, as usual. As part of the broader discussion, it could be helpful to look at today’s modeled good governance response to @JeffTozzer’s question to the commissioners, along with your reply, and consider whether that approach reflects how you would address these issues.
I read overdoses and deaths are always reported in the state where the event takes place. With all the homeless and addicts coming here from elsewhere it's pretty hard to believe overdoses have gone down, not up.
It would appear to me the methods used to measure success are totally backwards as you have written. Totally in line with the plan moving forward. We need more funds, we need more supplies to give away, and we definitely need more employees .
Oh we also need more addicts to justify all the funds and programs. Wow, if we run out of “death by illegal drug use” what ever shall we do to fill that officious gap?
In Needful Things, Stephen King writes that “the scariest part isn’t that evil exists—it’s that people don’t need a demon to destroy a town. They just need to stop questioning their own choices.” That line feels uncomfortably relevant to what we are witnessing in Clallam County today. Our towns are not being hollowed out by one villain or one policy, but by a series of decisions made without sufficient transparency, accountability, or meaningful public input.
We are allowing elected officials to make far-reaching choices on our behalf that are eroding public trust, safety, and quality of life from the inside out. Harm reduction, at its core, is meant to reduce suffering, and that goal matters. But when harm reduction is implemented without guardrails, enforcement, clear expectations, and measurable outcomes, it can unintentionally create new harms, particularly for the neighborhoods, families, and small businesses expected to absorb the consequences.
Harm reduction does not need to be abolished. It needs to be reconstructed and paired with treatment pathways, accountability, community involvement, and honest evaluation of what is and is not working. Otherwise, we risk the very mistake King warned about: confusing good intentions and inaction for wisdom, while our towns quietly pay the price.
Any board, NGO, Non-profit, etc. dealing with addiction should be heavily weighted with recovering addicts. Those of us who have been there and know what it takes and what works.
Thank you, Jake! I appreciate how many topics you cover with great depth; especially providing information from other states to give a broader perspective of what is happening elsewhere, and that other places are adjusting in a better direction.
Looking at the Harm Reduction Annual Report, there were more syringes distributed than there are people in Clallam County. Then it says ‘syringes taken in based on container’; I’m guessing that they’re estimating the amount of syringes based on what a container is supposed to hold? Not sure you would know that answer, but that’s interesting to me.
With all the syringes that 4PA finds, do they turn them into the county or do they get disposed of in another way?
Jeff — another great theme song; you never disappoint! You’re so welcome for the podcasts and interviews! For all you do for Clallam County with CC Watchdog, I’m glad that I can give you something back. Looking forward to Recompete and Indivisible Sequim this week!
Good Governance Daily Proverb
Participation gives voice; governance assigns responsibility.
Both matter—but they are not the same.
Democratic systems honor inclusion without confusing activity with accountability.
Outcomes—not presence—are how governing responsibility is evaluated.
I just posted this proverb above my computer screen. Should be a banner hanging in front of Clallam County Board of Commissioners.
The do the math proverb, seems to be hidden behind the "Oppression Olympics" proverb.
When Eric said "if the arts were such hot stuff they would pay for themselves" it put the math proverb in their face.
The commissioners did not answer the last question about advisory board appointments. Here is today's email to the commissioners and Dr. Berry:
Dear Commissioners and Dr. Berry,
I’m concerned that the Opioid Gaps Report will measure participation rather than progress out of addiction. The county’s current strategy appears to validate existing policy by highlighting encounters and services delivered, while offering little clarity on the outcomes that matter most — how many people enter treatment, complete it, and stay sober. Given that overdose deaths are declining nationally, what evidence does the County have that local policy is responsible for changes here, and why were opioid settlement funds used for an internally generated report instead of an independent evaluation? At what point will the County shift from expanding programs to publicly tracking whether those programs are actually helping people leave addiction behind? I appreciate your time and look forward to clear answers.
The following is a modeled good-governance response from the perspective of an individual commissioner who attended the January 20, 2026, Board of Health meeting. It clarifies the scope of the Opioid Gap Report, acknowledges governance gaps, and outlines process-appropriate steps to improve outcome-based accountability without speaking for the full Board or directing staff.
Dear Constituent,
Thank you for the specificity of your questions. They raise a legitimate governance concern, and after reviewing the materials presented at the January 20, 2026, Board of Health meeting, I want to respond directly and completely.
Participation versus progress out of addiction:
The January 2026 project update explicitly states that the Opioid Gap Report is not a research study and is not designed to evaluate the effectiveness of specific opioid use disorder interventions or strategies (Clallam County Health & Human Services [CCHHS], 2026). Instead, it is framed as a planning and prioritization tool intended to inventory services, identify gaps, and align future funding decisions with Washington State Department of Health–approved uses of opioid settlement funds.
As a result, the report measures system activity and capacity, not recovery outcomes such as treatment initiation, completion, or sustained sobriety. It should not be interpreted as evidence that current strategies are working—or failing.
Attribution and overdose trends:
With respect to declining overdose deaths, the County does not currently have evidence sufficient to establish causal attribution between local policy decisions and observed trends. Overdose mortality is influenced by multiple factors beyond local control, including changes in drug supply, reporting practices, treatment availability, and national trends. Without an evaluation framework designed to test attribution, correlation alone cannot support claims of policy effectiveness (RTI International, 2024).
Use of opioid settlement funds:
Settlement guidance allows opioid settlement funds to be used for planning and system assessment, which is how the Opioid Gap Report has been framed. That use is permissible. However, national best-practice guidance emphasizes that planning tools should not substitute for independent outcome evaluation, particularly when the same institutions that design and operate programs also generate the analyses used to justify continued or expanded funding (National Association of Counties [NACo], 2024; RTI International, 2024). The distinction between planning and evaluation has not been made clear enough in public discussion, and I agree that this lack of clarity has contributed to understandable concern.
When to shift to outcome-based accountability:
From a governance perspective, outcome tracking should precede—or at least accompany—decisions to expand programs. Clallam County already maintains surveillance and reporting mechanisms intended to inform intervention and evaluation, not merely describe trends (CCHHS, n.d.; CCHHS, 2020). Good governance now requires explicitly defining what “success” means beyond participation, identifying which recovery-oriented outcomes matter, and reporting those outcomes publicly on a regular basis.
What I will do as an individual commissioner:
As an individual commissioner who attended the January meeting, and acting within my authority, I will take the following steps:
1. Clarify the record
I will raise, in open meetings, the importance of clearly describing the Opioid Gap Report as a planning and prioritization tool, not an evaluation of program effectiveness.
2. Separate planning from evaluation
I will request that the Board discuss outcome measurement and evaluation as a distinct governance topic, rather than implicitly folding those questions into the Gap Report.
3. Press for outcome-based reporting
I will request that the Board discuss what would be required to move toward regular, recovery-focused outcome reporting, including which outcomes staff believe could meaningfully reflect progress out of addiction.
4. Advocate for evaluation capacity
I will advocate that future use of opioid settlement funds include dedicated evaluation capacity, potentially including independent or third-party evaluation, consistent with national best practices (NACo, 2024; RTI International, 2024).
5. Maintain the core accountability question
In open meetings, I will continue to ask: What evidence do we have that our local policies are helping people leave addiction behind, and how would we know if they were not? If that question cannot be answered clearly, governance requires reassessment before further expansion.
I cannot act unilaterally, and I do not speak for other commissioners. But I do have a voice at the table, and I intend to use it to insist on clarity, transparency, and outcome-based accountability consistent with the public trust.
Respectfully,
Commissioner
Clallam County Commissioner
References
Clallam County Health & Human Services. (n.d.). Making “opioid overdose” a notifiable condition in Clallam County [PDF]. Unpublished document obtained via public records request.
Clallam County Health & Human Services. (2020, April). Clallam County opioid surveillance dashboard (Version 6, Edition 1) [PDF]. Unpublished document obtained via public records request.
Clallam County Health & Human Services. (2026, January). Clallam County opioid gap report: Project updates [PowerPoint slides]. Unpublished document obtained via public records request.
National Association of Counties. (2024). Principles for monitoring opioid settlement spending. https://www.naco.org/resource/osc-monitoring
RTI International. (2024). Supporting decision makers using opioid settlement funds: How to monitor, evaluate, and track the impact of opioid settlement spending [Report].
https://preventioninstitute.org/sites/default/files/uploads/How%20to%20Monitor%2C%20Evaluate%2C%20and%20Track%20the%20Impact%20of%20Opioid%20%28RTI%20International%29.pdf
Washington State Legislature. (n.d.). RCW 43.79.483: Opioid abatement settlement account. https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=43.79.483
Thank you, Dr. Sara!
I like the "clear answers" ending, Jeff. No muddled word salad will be accepted.
That means no answer at all😁
Bottom line: People with no desire to help themselves cannot be helped. While addiction is horrible and sobriety is difficult, as Chelsea Jones shows us, it can be achieved if the addict makes the choice. Seems to me that a huge amount of scarce and dwindling public resources are expended on an extremely small percentage of county residents, many of whom refuse to make the choice and contribute little positivity to the community. Giving them boofing kits and other drugs and paraphernalia at taxpayer expense seems to be a way to help them refrain from making that difficult choice to become sober.
Good point, Robert.
Reducing homelessness and substance abuse is essential to public safety and economic development. Clean, well-managed public spaces build community pride and signal to businesses that their investments will be protected. People currently driving high public costs through crime, addiction, indigent defense and court and jail use can become contributors to the local economy if policies empower recovery instead of enabling dependency. Our jails and prisons should be preparing people to fill county workforce gaps - like hospitality and food service - and succeed after release. These jobs often pay more than Recompete targets once tips are included.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your efforts.
Unfortunately we live in a place where most elected officials worry more about finding “free” money and what the newest world trend is than what would help their constituents.
Is it just me or is it a pitiful statement that we only have Chelsea’s positive outcome?
So there’s #1
Yes. Expansion of programs like Shielding Hope and reducing support for programs like harm reduction will allow us to see more success stories.
The notion we could transfer the drug incarceration problem to another bureaucracy was harebrained. The current "outpatient" model has been devastating to our community.
Clearly, the "outpatient" model needs to be financially supported by the "outpatient" industrial complex, because they have assaulted the property owner to create a bloated bureaucracy and a public nuisance problem that 4PA has to combat.
It has been a disaster to think that you could serve up a Kevorkian diet without an institution of Russian weight-lifter types to be a deterrent against the damage to the public and themselves.
They also mixed the mental health problem with a drug problem. This is not only destructive to those mentally challenged and leaving them without the structured, involuntary care many desperately need, but it also shields addicts from accountability, turning streets into open-air asylums where neither group gets real treatment, only enabling. The result is more overdoses, more violence, and more despair for everyone. We need separate systems: secure mental health facilities with actual authority for the severely ill, and a return to enforced sobriety and consequences for addiction, not this deadly experiment in "compassion" that punishes the rest of society.
LAST WEEK "OPPRESSION OLYMPICS" THIS WEEK "OPEN AIR ASYLUM'
Fantastic, John!
Only one thing is for sure: The powers that be are utterly uninterested in helping anyone except themselves — more jobs at PBH, NOHN, OMC, ReDiscovery and the Clallam Health Department. That’s their metric. All the funding, all the counting only adds up to one thing, numbers they can parade to justify and create more social service jobs.
Excellent article, Jake! We have to keep questioning the motives of our County leaders, because the basis of their policies defy common sense. Thank you for asking the real questions and for providing resources for the public to review. I appreciate your transparency and engagement with us.
SEEGERS 2026!!
Thank you, Denise for always directing our leaders back to common sense(:
Jake, I'm getting off this particular topic. I hate even writing this, but I'm confused because there are two different blog sites you carry. Jumping back and forth makes it difficult to blend together "things". What I would like is your stated "on point goals" and mostly posted on CCWD as this site has the biggest viewers and readers. If I'm getting confused, there must be others. Fund drives are not really advertised, why not? I totally believe you should be on the 2027 Clallam County Commissioner Board but the readers are pushing for you more than you are pushing for yourself. Boy, am I going to be in trouble for this from supporters (I'm one of your biggest) I think what I'm saying is I need to hear a hard stance.
Hi, Jennifer! I sincerely appreciate your feedback. CCWD is the only blog that I post to. I do have a campaign website that re-posts CCWD articles.
I would love to touch base with you and figure out what is causing confusion for you and others.
Could you please reach out to me at jake@jakeseegers.com and we can figure this out. Thank you for being one of my biggest supporters(: Jake
Sent just now
Clallam County Commissioners
Do you believe that Harm Reduction, measured by the increase or decrease in yearly overdose deaths, is a meaningful sign of success that warrants more investment? Or do you believe it is time to invest in programs that have proven not only to lower death rates but help move people to chose to abandon the addiction and return to engaged and productive life. I ask you to question those boards that are investing in Harm Reduction to show you examples of how their investment has returned results.
I would like to see the number of homeless people decrease and numbers of substance abusers decrease and our streets returned to safer places for all of us. This would seem to be a priority of those of you interested in good governance assigning responsibility. How about asking how many individuals have you helped choose sobriety? And how many people has your program placed in recovery plans?
Good governance would suggest that your answers thus far have shown your priorities have leaned toward your own recognition by the boards you belong to and political gain, rather than the interests of the greater community of which you belong and purport to represent.
Eric Fehrmann
The commissioners indicating that they needed a $25,000 fund to look at the results of how harm reduction is working out. Actually they just are grasping for some justification to keep throwing money at the problem. I worked for Seattle/King County Health Dept establishing dental related programs. Every week we were able to add all our contacts, dental exams, number of students seen etc on a one page document I created with a fill in the blanks. Our numbers showed outcomes, education and intervention and exams annually 30,000 K-12
public school students. This was before we had access to computers. I’m only sharing this because the county seems so hung up in proving their data has a positive outcome.
People move, demographics change. It doesn’t take much of an anomaly one year to
change a pattern . Thinking that fewer deaths have anything to do with harm reduction is me thinking Seattle is plaque free because we handed out toothbrushes. The commissioners should consult with experts and researchers (like Jake) before making assertions.
I for one would like to know how many of these drug challenged folks have been offered to go to the MAT clinic that the county absolutely had to have? I really would love to see some numbers.
You have to put the proper tools in place to help people with these addictions not just give out harm reduction. It only escalates the problem.
If you ask me the CC Commissioners all got participation, trophies, and Pats on the back when they were in school.
Not sure if you've ever listened to a health department board meeting, but it's unmistakable when the Jamestown Corporation representative speaks what's being protected.
They hid or avoided the "Open Air Asylum" reality by playing the race card.
Its not like these problems were not predicted.
They are straining muscles by patting themselves on the back so often and for reasons that clearly don’t matter or are exaggerated in their own minds.
What is success? February 1, 2026
We readers continue to find those justifications for actions that start with a desired conclusion and then defend the actions to support the chosen end result.
The widely cited, though likely mis-attributed, quote is:
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". Often incorrectly attributed to Albert Einstein, the phrase is actually believed to have originated from author Rita Mae Brown in her 1983 novel, Sudden Death.
I choose this quotation to highlight the recent discussions on Harm Prevention and Homelessness. Another observation is the application of research activity to whenever the researcher has started their investigation with a preconceived conclusion to confirm their research activity.
Key Procedural Principles
• Independent Review: Research protocols should be reviewed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee.
• Scientific Validity: The study must be designed to yield reliable, valid, and replicable results.
• Competence: Maintaining and improving professional competence and expertise.
• Legality: Adhering to relevant laws, institutional policies, and governmental regulations.
These principles ensure that research is not only technically sound but also ethically responsible, protecting both participants and the integrity of the scientific process.
What we are seeing today is not success, but justification.
Something similar to the present actions is trying to justify giving alcohol to an alcoholic and then declaring success when the person passes out. “He stopped drinking!”
Harm Prevention is not working, but we see claims of success because there are reductions in deaths. They stopped dying, but are still addicted and drug-dependent. Give them more drugs! What have we gained? We think providing expensive housing is a solution for homelessness, but too many examples refute these claims. Dependency remains.
A desired goal for all these problems is individual independence, the freedom from addiction. Have we succeeded in meeting this goal?
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
To them its a living wage job and a monetization of an "open air asylum" model. A model with kickbacks and pro quid...A powerful consortium. It feeds the Oppression Olympians competing in the "Oppression "Olympics."
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=olympic+games+song
Sheldon, you summed it up: "What we are seeing today is not success, but justification"
Simply delaying death as a strategy in a death with dignity, or right to die, state is inconsistent policy. Without naloxone the population of death seekers shrinks. I believe those consequences are clear, even to drug users. Don't deny their rights.
Great reality check Jake. Your interest and journey for this subject clearly predates your decision to run for office, but if I was a betting person I would bet that part of your decision to run was as a result of this topic. Some will confuse your intentions, I've met you and I know the truth.
What we're seeing is the pivot the machine and it's controllers, are making to keep the money flow intact. That is sick and depraved given this is all wrapped as caring for the addicted. They shouldn't worry though if the program rightfully goes the way of the Dodo. Their skills are perfect for used car sales jobs.
Thank you, MK. This issue touches nearly every aspect of what matters most to the long-term health and prosperity of our county.
Great article and podcast, as usual. As part of the broader discussion, it could be helpful to look at today’s modeled good governance response to @JeffTozzer’s question to the commissioners, along with your reply, and consider whether that approach reflects how you would address these issues.
I'm not buying.
Overdose patients have been sent to hospitals outside of the county. When they die elsewhere, who scores?
mb I didn't think of that. You are correct, transports to other facilities from OMC is not uncommon and very expensive!
I read overdoses and deaths are always reported in the state where the event takes place. With all the homeless and addicts coming here from elsewhere it's pretty hard to believe overdoses have gone down, not up.
It would appear to me the methods used to measure success are totally backwards as you have written. Totally in line with the plan moving forward. We need more funds, we need more supplies to give away, and we definitely need more employees .
Very well said, JJW.
Oh we also need more addicts to justify all the funds and programs. Wow, if we run out of “death by illegal drug use” what ever shall we do to fill that officious gap?
In Needful Things, Stephen King writes that “the scariest part isn’t that evil exists—it’s that people don’t need a demon to destroy a town. They just need to stop questioning their own choices.” That line feels uncomfortably relevant to what we are witnessing in Clallam County today. Our towns are not being hollowed out by one villain or one policy, but by a series of decisions made without sufficient transparency, accountability, or meaningful public input.
We are allowing elected officials to make far-reaching choices on our behalf that are eroding public trust, safety, and quality of life from the inside out. Harm reduction, at its core, is meant to reduce suffering, and that goal matters. But when harm reduction is implemented without guardrails, enforcement, clear expectations, and measurable outcomes, it can unintentionally create new harms, particularly for the neighborhoods, families, and small businesses expected to absorb the consequences.
Harm reduction does not need to be abolished. It needs to be reconstructed and paired with treatment pathways, accountability, community involvement, and honest evaluation of what is and is not working. Otherwise, we risk the very mistake King warned about: confusing good intentions and inaction for wisdom, while our towns quietly pay the price.
Any board, NGO, Non-profit, etc. dealing with addiction should be heavily weighted with recovering addicts. Those of us who have been there and know what it takes and what works.
Well said, Eric.
👏💯
That quote is chilling, SC.
Money needs to be made. Unfortunately recovery does not support that goal.
Fun new song and thank you both Jake and Jeff!
Thank you, Jake! I appreciate how many topics you cover with great depth; especially providing information from other states to give a broader perspective of what is happening elsewhere, and that other places are adjusting in a better direction.
Looking at the Harm Reduction Annual Report, there were more syringes distributed than there are people in Clallam County. Then it says ‘syringes taken in based on container’; I’m guessing that they’re estimating the amount of syringes based on what a container is supposed to hold? Not sure you would know that answer, but that’s interesting to me.
With all the syringes that 4PA finds, do they turn them into the county or do they get disposed of in another way?
Jeff — another great theme song; you never disappoint! You’re so welcome for the podcasts and interviews! For all you do for Clallam County with CC Watchdog, I’m glad that I can give you something back. Looking forward to Recompete and Indivisible Sequim this week!
Glad you like the retro trip through the 90s.
Thank you, Clallamity. Great observation on the count!
4PA turns syringes back in to HHS for disposal.