Oregon’s Democratic governor signed a bill recriminalizing drug possession after his lax policy led to skyrocketing overdose rates and rampant homelessness across the state.
Gov. Tina Kotek on Monday signed legislation repealing a 2020 voter-approved measure that made possession of illicit drugs such as heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine a non-criminal offense, equivalent to a parking ticket.
When Oregon voters approved the historic plan to decriminalize hard drugs four 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 the core of the decriminalization plan and public opinion has soured as public drug use has become more visible due to the increasing lack of housing.
The state has seen a 210 percent increase in fentanyl-related deaths since the initial decriminalization bill passed and Kotek declared a state of emergency over Portland’s fentanyl crisis in January.
Drug possession has been recriminalized in Oregon after its lax policy led to skyrocketing overdose rates and growing homelessness across the state.
Gov. Tina Kotek on Monday signed legislation repealing a 2020 voter-approved measure that made possession of illicit drugs a non-criminal offense.
After decriminalization, overdoses skyrocketed as the state struggled to fund improved treatment centers and the public grew angry at the policy.
Kotek declared a state of emergency over the fentanyl crisis in Portland in January to combat the city’s debilitating fentanyl crisis.
The state has seen a 210 percent increase in fentanyl-related deaths since the initial decriminalization bill passed.
In 2023, 16 children were exposed to fentanyl in the state and 539 children were exposed to the deadly drug nationwide, according to katu2.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual homeless assessment report, on a single night in January 2023, Oregon had 20,142 homeless people and 64.6 percent of them were homeless. shelter.
The governor met with officials from the Oregon Department of Justice, Department of Corrections, district attorneys, police and community leaders before signing the bill.
“The success of this policy framework depends on the ability of implementing partners to commit to deep coordination at all levels,” Kotek said in a letter to the president of the state Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives on Monday.
The changes take effect Sept. 1 and make possession for personal use a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.
It also lays out ways to offer treatment as an alternative to criminal sanctions, encouraging law enforcement agencies to create diversion programs that would divert people toward addiction and mental health services instead of the criminal justice system.
The lax law passed in 2020, combined with the pandemic, further damaged downtown Portland, causing the streets to become an open-air drug market.
According to the city of Portland, overall homelessness increased by 65 percent between 2015 and 2023, with 6,297 homeless people counted in the last point-in-time count.
In March 2023, Walmart announced it would permanently close all of its Portland locations months after CEO Doug McMillon warned of a historic rise in thefts at its stores.
Despite passing key ordinances last year to address drug use and homelessness, the city faces impediments in dealing with addiction and unauthorized encampments.
The new law goes into effect September 1 and makes possession for personal use a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.
On a single night in January 2023, Oregon had 20,142 homeless people.
The lax law passed in 2020, combined with the pandemic, further damaged downtown Portland, causing the streets to become an open-air drug market.
More than half of voters in Portland would still consider leaving the city if they could afford it, according to a poll commissioned by the Portland police union.
The Portland City Council unanimously passed an ordinance banning public drug use in September, but its implementation depended on state lawmakers passing supporting measures.
Portland officials cut millions from their police budgets in June 2020 following the Black Lives Matter protests and the growing “defund the police” movement.
Following a rise in crime, homelessness and drugs in the city, Portland officials changed course and increased their $230 million police budget by $5.2 million a year later.
However, more than half of voters in Portland would still consider leaving the city if they could afford it, according to a poll commissioned by the Portland police union.
It found that almost two-thirds of people believe the city is “on the wrong path” and 68 percent say it is “losing what made it special.”
