Democratic Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek on Monday signed into a law a bill that recriminalizes the possession of small amounts of drugs, rolling back the state’s first-in-the-nation experiment with the decriminalization of hard drugs.
The new law, House Bill 4002, makes personal use possession a misdemeanor punishable by a jail sentence of up to six months beginning Sept. 1, as well as encourages law enforcement agencies to use deflection programs for addiction and mental health treatment as an alternative to criminal penalties.
“Success of this policy framework hinges on the ability of implementing partners to commit to deep coordination at all levels,” Kotek wrote in her Monday signing letter. “Courts, Oregon State Police, local law enforcement, defense attorneys, district attorneys, and local behavioral health providers are all critical to these conversations and necessary partners to achieve the vision for this legislation.”
Oregon state House Minority Leader Jeff Helfrich (R) said after Kotek signed the new law that it showed how his party “stood united and forced Democrats” to bring back criminal penalties.
In 2021, Oregon became the first state in the nation to decriminalize the possession of most hard drugs — including fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine — after voters approved “Measure 110” in 2020.
According to state data, unintentional opioid overdose deaths in Oregon increased from 280 in 2019 to 956 in 2022.
In February, Gov. Kotek, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler declared a joint emergency declaration over the fentanyl crisis.
The Maine State Legislature recently took up for consideration a bill similar to Oregon’s Measure 110, LD 1975, that would have decriminalized the possession of all scheduled drugs in the state.
[RELATED: Some Maine Lawmakers Want to Legalize Possession of All Recreational Drugs, Even Cocaine and Heroin…]
Like Oregon, Maine has experienced a years-long upward trend in overdose deaths, about 80 percent of which are attributed to fentanyl, according to state data.
Last week, during a work session on LD 1975, the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee voted unanimously to replace the bill with a proposal for a task force to study decriminalization.
Gov. Mills announced in her January State of the State Address that she plans to use $750,000 in existing state funding to add nine new substance use recovery coaches to a statewide team, and will use $1.25 million in federal funds to increase the distribution of naloxone (equivalent to over-the-counter Narcan).
Additionally, Mills said she plans to dedicate $4 million in her forthcoming supplemental budget proposal to expand Medication Assisted Treatment in the state’s county jails.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="27110 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=27110">3 Comments
A stoned constituency, finishing the job started by socialist teachers.
They say not to judge a book by its cover, but I could pick out this Commie in a police lineup any day of the week.
Democrats will do what is necessary to remain in office. !80 deg. flip is not a problemfor a Democrat. Just stay in office and collect a far paycheck and BIG penson is their end game.Even call yourself an INDEPENDENT if needed.