I was out of Oregon for 30 years, but IMO the RG has done a ton of coverage on those downtown, the homeless, and the organization that have tried to sustain support.      You have to examine the gestalt of the conflict, not the specifics of this incident.    

For instance I'm sure that many of the travelers consider drug use just a part of the culture they are living.   It's a freshman dormitory in 1971 filled with pot smoke.    If you live a life insulated from the general public, you create a blindness to the concerns of the majority of citizens living in Eugene.    Doing drug exchanges in a public place may be seen as harmless to those using selling/using the drugs, but it's still a crime supported by the majority of Eugene's citizens.

Read David Brooks column today, I think he addresses this problem of a diminished acceptance of broad based morality/ethical standards.  

The glorification of the few has superseded the needs of the many.   *Yep, ripping off Vulcan philosophy.