Oregon lawmakers have passed a bill to recriminalize drug possession, weeks after Governor Tina Kotek declared a state of emergency over Portland’s fentanyl crisis.
A bill that would recriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs passed the Oregon Legislature on Friday.
The bill undoes an important part of the state’s medicine decriminalization law, the first of its kind in the US
Efforts by lawmakers come as Governments are struggling to respond to the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history.
According to the CDC, Oregon has seen a 190 percent increase in overdose deaths since the initial decriminalization law went into effect in February 2021.
Oregon lawmakers have passed a bill to recriminalize drug possession, weeks after Governor Tina Kotek declared a state of emergency over Portland’s fentanyl crisis
A bill that would recriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs passed the Oregon Legislature on Friday (Photo: A person pushes a cart along Southwest 3rd Avenue in Portland)
The new bill undoes a key part of the drug decriminalization law, the first of its kind in the US. bench in downtown Portland)
Oregon has seen a 190 percent increase in overdose deaths since the initial decriminalization law went into effect in February 2021
Gov. Tina Kotek said in January she was open to signing a bill that would roll back decriminalization
In the 12 months leading up to February 2021, there were 861 overdose deaths in Oregon; that number rose to 1,650 deaths in the same twelve-month period ending September 2023.
When Oregon voters approved the landmark plan to decriminalize hard drugs three years ago, they thought ending the incarceration of drug users would be good for the state and potentially spread across the country.
However, overdoses soared as the state struggled to fund the upgraded treatment centers that are at the heart of the decriminalization plan.
The pandemic has further battered downtown Portland, turning the streets into an open-air drug market.
Now even liberal politicians — like Oregon’s Democratic governor, Tina Kotek — are willing to end the experiment before the drug crisis spirals even further out of control.
The Senate approved the new bill, House Bill 4002, by a vote of 21 to 8, after the House passed it by a vote of 51 to 7 on Thursday.
The bill is now on the desk of Governor Tina Kotek, who said in January that she is open to signing a bill that would roll back decriminalization.
The Democratic governor of Oregon declared a state of emergency at the end of January due to the fentanyl crisis in Portland.
“With this bill, we are redoubling our commitment to ensuring Oregonians have access to the treatment and care they need,” said Democratic Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber of Portland, one of the authors of the bill.
She added that its passage “will be the beginning of real and transformative change for our justice system.”
Lawmakers’ efforts come as governments struggle to respond to the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history
Oregon has seen a 210 percent increase in fentanyl-related deaths since the first decriminalization law was passed in November 2020 (Photo: Officer Donny Mathew of the Portland Police Bureau’s bike crew, standing next to a person who appears to be unconscious)
The measure makes possession of small amounts of drugs, such as heroin or methamphetamine, a criminal offense punishable by up to six months in prison.
This allows police to seize the drugs and crack down on their use on sidewalks and in parks. Drug treatment should be offered as an alternative to criminal sanctions.
The bill also aims to make it easier to prosecute people who sell drugs. It increases access to addiction medications and obtaining and maintaining housing without being discriminated against because of the use of those medications.
Kotek, along with her colleagues, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Chairwoman Jessica Vega Pederson declared a state of emergency last month.
They directed their agencies to work with first responders to connect people addicted to the synthetic opioid with resources, including drug treatment programs, and to crack down on drug sales.
In the 90 days following the declaration, fentanyl addicts who interacted with first responders in downtown Portland were triggered by the new command center.
The Democratic governor of Oregon declared a state of emergency at the end of January due to the fentanyl crisis
The measure makes possession of small amounts of drugs such as heroin or methamphetamine a crime, punishable by up to six months in prison (photo: police officer David Baer pulls a man who was caught smoking fentanyl)
The bill also aims to make it easier to prosecute people who sell drugs. It increases access to addiction medications and obtaining and maintaining housing without being discriminated against because of the use of those medications
Staff at the center can connect addicts with a variety of resources, from a bed at a drug treatment center to meeting with a behavioral therapist to help register for food stamps.
“Our country and our state have never seen such a fatally addictive drug, and they are all struggling with how to respond,” Kotek said.
The statement is a recommendation from a task force created by the governor that met for several months last year to determine ways to rejuvenate downtown Portland.