Oregon Governor Will Sign Bill That Criminalizes Illicit Drugs
Overdoses have skyrocketed since the state decriminalized drugs.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) announced she will sign House Bill 4002, which criminalizes illicit drugs:
“Finally, reforms to Measure 110 will start to take shape, as I intend to sign House Bill 4002 and the related prevention and treatment investments within the next 30 days. As Governor, my focus is on implementation. My office will work closely with each implementing authority to set expectations, specifically in response to the Criminal Justice Center’s Racial Equity Impact Statement, which projected disproportionate impacts to communities of color and the accompanying concerns raised by advocates. House Bill 4002 will require persistent action and commitment from state and local government to uphold the intent that the legislature put forward: to balance treatment for individuals struggling with addiction and accountability.”
Voters passed Measure 110 in 2020 “to decriminalize most illegal possession of controlled substance offenses and redirect much of the state’s marijuana tax revenue to fund grants for addiction services.”
HB 4002 will now give illicit users an ultimatum: Be criminally charged or get treatment if caught with hard drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine. It also makes the possession of small amounts of drugs such as heroin or methamphetamine a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail. It enables police to confiscate the drugs and crack down on their use on sidewalks and in parks.
Additionally, the bill aims to make it easier to prosecute people who sell drugs and increase access to addictive medication.
Last September, the Portland City Council passed an ordinance banning public drug use. But the ordinance would only go into effect if Oregon changed its drug laws.
Even Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler supported the ordinance: “Just by virtue of illustrating how important this issue is, the last time I saw somebody consuming what what I believe to be fentanyl publicly on our streets was less than five minutes ago, three blocks from city hall.”
In July, Portland firefighters spoke to the media about all of the overdose deaths they’ve seen since the state decriminalized drugs:
Portland police data shows that back in 2020 nearly 90 people died from overdoses. The number jumped to 135 in 2021, then to 159 in all of 2022. So far this year there have been 151 deaths, all in less than seven months. Police expect that number to be around 300 by year’s end.
Portland firefighters are responding to more overdoses than fires — and when they do respond to a fire, it’s often-homeless camp related. When a KGW crew was riding along with Station 1 firefighters, three OD calls dropped in a matter of 25 seconds. They headed to one under a bridge in Southwest Portland.
“He hit some strong fetty and he just fell out and he was grey, turning grey, and his eyes were rolling back in his head. We just narcaned him and he came back,” said a drug user whose friend had just overdosed.
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Comments
You don’t say…
Didn’t see this coming lol
I’m skeptical about enforcement. They don’t have enough empty jail space. While only about 10% homeless junkies will ever turn their lives around, and the other 90% will claim they are trying but keep relapsing.
The real problem is that you can either help them (which will involve doing things against their will) or you can let their behavior’s consequences fall on them fully. Anything that tries to “help” them by alleviating the consequences only enables the behavior in a never-ending spiral.
Until people can straighten out their idea of “compassion” they can’t help any of these people.
Right. There are painful penalties that result from battling Darwin, and different but equally painful penalties for surrendering to him. The question is, on whom do you want the consequences of people’s choices to fall — on themselves, or on everybody else?
Stop Narcaning them. If they chose to live recklessly, who are we to intervene?
Just let them die? How compassionate. What if it was your child?
Yes let them die if that is their choice.
Narcan only postpones the death. If all the junkies die, then the money to fix the problem will dry up, and that would create a much bigger crisis, unemployed useless liberals roaming the streets. Priorities, people.
“A new study led by a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researcher found that the percent of patients treated for opioid use disorder with methadone significantly decreased their use of fentanyl during a year of treatment. The percent who tested positive for fentanyl declined on average from 21.8 percent in week one to 17.1 percent in week 52.
The average heroin positivity rate also declined, from 8.4 percent to 4.3 percent.”
Consider this. Even after a full year of methadone treatment, 17% still tested positive for fentanyl. What percentage of fentanyl users even seek treatment? Recall that as long as fentanyl use was legal, there was no mechanism to induce users to even seek treatment; it can’t be forced on them.
Only about 0.1% of homeless junkies will turn their lives around. In order to do that, one needs to hit bottom, and the constant enabling by the local pols at all levels keeps them just above their bottom. I used to think that “bottom” was when one lost a few teeth. Now I see people with only a few teeth and no intention of stopping anytime soon. Portland will soon distribute pure liquid meals and then hyperalimentation clinics for those whose entire jaw has dropped off. Anything to keep their 10% skim alive.
There is nothing more dangerous than misguided good intentions. Results mean nothing. They only see their “intent” when evaluating a success.
So far this year there have been 151 deaths, all in less than seven months
Ummmm… *looks at calendar*
Even if they’re talking fiscal year, it’s been less than 6.
The article says this statement was made last July.
Possibilities:
1. Two is indeed less than seven.
2. KGW reporters are innumerate.
Darwin shall win
“My office will work closely with each implementing authority to set expectations, specifically in response to the Criminal Justice Center’s Racial Equity Impact Statement, which projected disproportionate impacts to communities of color”.
In the near future I will be working closely with my fellow readers and wizards at Legal Insurrection to determine, once and for all, if “white” is a color.
Oregon Dems 2020: Decriminalize all drugs! Oregon Dems 2024: Uh, forget about it.
The article says this statement was made last July.
Never mind, says Governor Emily Litella.
Criminalize illicit drugs?
When it’s illegal, it’s just not as much fun.
Semantics, but if drug use was legal, the drugs weren’t illicit were they?
On a plus note, my local state rep has avoided the mochahut since I ripped him a new one regarding the state’s actions towards the homeless and addiction issues a couple of months ago. They hate hearing from credible people whose paycheck isn’t tied to a purse that they control.
As someone who lives 10 miles from the OR border, I can say with retty high confidence that there is much less than meets the eye to this. The Dems fought a rear guard action against Measure 110. This will fail, and then there will be an initiative to repeal it outright.