PORTLAND, Oregon — The first experiment in Oregon with decriminalization of drugs will end on Sunday and possession of small amounts of hard drugs will once again become punishable.
The Democratic-controlled Legislature passed the recriminalization law in March, revising a measure approved by 58% of voters in 2020 that made possession of illegal drugs like heroin punishable by a ticket and a fine of up to $100. The measure directed hundreds of millions of dollars in cannabis tax revenue toward addiction treatment, but the money has been slow to flow at a time when the fentanyl crisis has caused a spike in fatal overdoses and health officials grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic have struggled to set up the new treatment system, state auditors found.
The new law The ordinance that goes into effect Sunday and was passed with the support of Republican lawmakers who have long opposed decriminalization makes so-called personal possession a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. It is intended to make it easier for police to crack down on drug use in public and has toughened penalties for selling drugs near places like parks.
Decriminalization advocates say treatment is more effective than prison in helping people overcome their addictions, and that the decades-old approach of arresting people for drug possession and use has not worked.
The new law offers alternative treatment options to criminal sanctions. But it only encourages, rather than requires, counties to create programs that divert people away from the criminal justice system and toward addiction and mental health care. Supporters of the law say it allows counties to develop programs based on their resources, while opponents say it could create a confusing and unfair patchwork of policies.
So far, 28 of the state’s 36 counties have applied for grants to fund diversion programs, according to the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. The commission expects to award more than $20 million in such grants over the next year.
Jeff Helfrich, Republican Minority Leader in the Oregon House of Representatives, voted for the bill but said he was concerned that counties would not have enough time to set up their programs.
“Unfortunately, I think we are setting people up for failure,” he said.
Multnomah County, the most populous state and home to Portland, plans to open a temporary center in October where police can drop off people who have committed no crime other than drug possession. There, nurses and outreach workers will assess people and refer them for treatment. Until then, the county’s mental health workers will respond to law enforcement in the field to connect people with services, but people could still go to jail based on a variety of factors, including if those workers take longer than a half hour to respond, officials said.
“The criteria for diversion are very narrow: no other charges, no warrants, no violent behavior, medically stable,” said Portland Police Chief Bob Day.
In other counties, people with drugs who are also suspected of minor public order offenses such as trespassing are eligible for diversion. Many counties plan to wait to file drug possession charges while people complete programs.
The differences in diversion programs from county to county are concerning, said Kellen Russoniello, public health director at the Drug Policy Alliance.
“It’s going to be a very complicated system where people who are using drugs basically don’t know what their rights are and what to expect because it’s different in every county,” he said. “Whether or not you’re connected to services or you’re just being rushed through the system really depends on where you happen to be in the state.”
He also said a potential influx of new drug cases could further strain Oregon’s justice system, which is already struggling with a serious shortage of public defendersand that he believes that the emphasis should be on increasing treatment capacity.
“We really need to focus on getting the services available to people if any of these diversion programs are going to be successful,” he said.
One of the bill’s lead authors, Democratic state Rep. Jason Kropf, said each county has unique challenges and resources and that lawmakers will monitor “what’s working in different parts of the state.”
“I have optimism and I have hope,” he said. “I’m also realistic that we still have a lot of work to do.”
Over the past four years, Oregon lawmakers have invested more than $1.5 billion to expand treatment capacity, according to a recent report from the Oregon Health Authority. While that has funded more than 350 new beds that will come online next year, the report found that the state still needs 3,700 beds to close the gaps and meet future demand.