SALEM, Ore.Ā ā Democratic lawmakers in Oregon on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping new bill that would undo a key part of the stateās first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law, a recognition that public opinion has soured on the measureĀ amid rampant public drug use during the fentanyl crisis.
The bill would recriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs as a low-level misdemeanor, enabling police to confiscate them and crack down on their use on sidewalks and in parks, its authors said. It also aims to make it easier to prosecute dealers, to access addiction treatment medication, and to obtain and keep housing without facing discrimination for using that medication.
āItās the compromise path, but also the best policy that we can come up with to make sure that we are continuing to keep communities safe and save lives,ā state Sen. Kate Lieber, a Portland Democrat, told The Associated Press.
Voters passed theĀ pioneering decriminalization law, Measure 110, with 58% support in 2020. But Democratic legislators who championed it as a way to treat addiction as a public health matter, not a crime, are now contending with one of the nationās largest spikes in overdose deaths, along with intensifying pressure from Republicans and growing calls from a well-funded campaign group to overhaul it.
Researchers say itās too soon to determine whether the law has contributed to the stateās deadly overdose surge, and supporters of the measure say the decadeslong approach of arresting people for possessing and using drugs didnāt work.
The bill, unveiled by Lieber and other Democrats serving on aĀ recently created committee on addiction, is set to be introduced during the legislative session that starts in February. The Legislature adjourned over the summer, but concern over the stateās drug crisis led Democrats to launch the committee in between sessions. Since September, the committee has held multiple hearings and heard testimony from law enforcement and substance use disorder experts on the lawās accomplishments and shortcomings.
Measure 110 directed the stateās cannabis tax revenueĀ toward drug addiction treatment while decriminalizing āpersonal useā amounts of illicit drugs. Possession of under a gram of heroin, for example, is only subject to a ticket and a maximum fine of $100.
Those caught with small amounts can have the citation dismissed by calling a 24-hour hotline to complete an addiction screening within 45 days, but those who donāt do a screening are not penalized for failing to pay the fine.
In the year after the law took effect in February 2021, only 1% of people who received citations for possession sought help via the hotline,Ā state auditors found.Ā As of last June, the hotline received an average of 10 calls per month that were related to citations.
Opponents of the law say it hasnāt created an incentive to seek treatment, a criticism the new bill seeks to address.
The measureās details have yet to be finalized, but āpersonal useā possession of illegal drugs would become a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail or a $1,250 fine. The bill would not affect OregonāsĀ legalization of cannabisĀ orĀ psychedelic mushrooms.
Those arrested for small amounts would be referred by police to a peer support specialist to schedule an assessment or intervention. If the person shows up to the meeting, they wouldnāt be charged. If they donāt, the offense could be referred to the district attorneyās office.
If charges are filed, they could avoid jail by agreeing to certain conditions of probation, or by agreeing to have their case diverted to drug court, where judges place people in treatment programs rather than jail.
āWeāre trying to give people off-ramps while also introducing some accountability into the system,ā Lieber said.
Republican lawmakers said the bill didnāt go far enough. They called for mandatory treatment and āpersonal useā possession to be a higher-level misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail or a $6,250 fine.
āA low-level class C misdemeanor only provides 30 days in jail as an alternative. This is nowhere near the amount of time needed to address addiction,ā state Rep. Kevin Mannix said in a statement.
Advocacy groups that have backed Oregonās decriminalization law opposed the proposal to once again make āpersonal useā possession a crime.
āYou donāt need a criminal penalty. You need services, and you need to make sure that youāre investing in those services,ā said Tera Hurst, executive director of the Health Justice Recovery Alliance. āCriminalization is not an effective tool to getting people into treatment, and it does more harm than good.ā
Regarding drug dealing, the bill would make it easier to prosecute people for selling drugs and create harsher penalties for doing so in parks and near homeless shelters and substance use disorder treatment centers.
The bill also aims to expand access to treatment, particularly medications used to treat opioid addiction. It would allow doctors to prescribe such medication without prior approval or review from insurance companies, and make it easier for pharmacists to refill prescriptions in certain emergency situations.
Additionally, it would expand fair housing standards to protect people prescribed such medication from being discriminated against when trying to maintain or access long-term living facilities, such as permanent supportive housing for people exiting homelessness.
