A bill to recriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs passed the Oregon House on Friday, the state’s first drug decriminalization law, as governments struggle to respond to the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history. Important parts were omitted.
The state Senate passed House Bill 4002 21-8 after the House passed it 51-7 on Thursday.
The bill now heads to Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk, who has said she is prepared to sign a bill rolling back decriminalization in January. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
“This bill renews our commitment to ensuring Oregonians receive the treatment and care they need,” said Democratic Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber of Portland, one of the bill’s authors. We will further strengthen the law,” he said, adding that the passage of the bill was a sign of the passage of the bill. “This will be the beginning of real transformative change for our justice system.”
The bill would make possession of small amounts of drugs, such as heroin or methamphetamine, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in prison.
This will allow police to seize drugs and control their use on sidewalks and parks. Drug treatment is to be provided as an alternative to criminal punishment.
The bill also aims to make it easier to prosecute drug dealers. This increases access to addiction treatment drugs and allows people to obtain and maintain housing without facing discrimination for using those drugs.
The decriminalization of personal use of the drug, approved by voters in 2020 under Ballot Act 110, would have shifted hundreds of millions of dollars in marijuana tax revenue to drug treatment and harm reduction programs.
An audit report released in 2023 found that the state’s care network, which has the second-highest rate of substance use disorder in the nation and ranks 50th in access to treatment, has not improved. .
And with Oregon experiencing the nation’s largest spike in overdose deaths, Republican pressure intensified and well-funded campaign groups pushed for a ballot measure that would further weaken Measure 110.
Researchers say it’s too early to tell whether the law has contributed to the spike in overdoses, and supporters of decriminalization measures say it’s too early to tell whether the law has contributed to the spike in overdoses, and supporters of the decriminalization measure say it’s too early to tell whether the law has contributed to the spike in overdoses, and supporters of the decriminalization measure say it’s too early to tell whether the law has contributed to the spike in overdoses. It claims that the year-long approach didn’t work.
Lawmakers who opposed the bill expressed these concerns.
Some said it was a return to the drug war that disproportionately affected and imprisoned millions of black men.
Sen. Lou Frederick, D-Portland, one of the four black senators, said the bill had too many flaws and said repeated testimony about the bill showed that substance use disorder The main reason was that medical attention was required, he said.
“I’m concerned that this (bill) will try to use the same tactics of the past and fail, and only reinforce a narrative of punishment that has failed for 50 years,” he said. He added that it has the potential to move many people into the court system without making them healthier.
