Liberal Oregon U-turns, passes bill to recriminalize hard drugs as overdose deaths skyrocket

Michael Dorgan
Fox News
Sat, 02 Mar 2024 20:42 UTC

© Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital

Tents cover an open space near the Steel Bridge in Portland, Oregon on July 7, 2023. Drug use has become rampant in the area.

Oregon lawmakers have voted to recriminalize certain drugs after a surge in overdose deaths resulted in the governor declaring a state of emergency for Portland's fentanyl crisis - all but ending a flagship liberal policy.

In 2020, a measure to decriminalize small amounts of all drugs and redirect much of the state's marijuana tax revenue to fund grants for addiction services was passed into law under Ballot Measure 110 with 58% of Oregon residents approving the measure.

Since then, addiction and overdose deaths have skyrocketed in Oregon and nationwide as fentanyl swept across the country.

In August, 56% of Oregonians said they disapproved of the pioneering drug law and both Republicans and Democrats introduced legislation to roll back the controversial measure.

A bill recriminalizing the possession of small amounts of drugs was passed by the state Senate 21-8 on Friday after the House passed it 51-7 on Thursday.

The bill now heads to the desk of Gov. Tina Kotek, who said in January that she is open to signing a bill that would roll back decriminalization, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. Kotek, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson last month declared a 90-day state of emergency for downtown Portland over the public health and public safety crisis fueled by fentanyl.

"With this bill, we are doubling down on our commitment to make sure Oregonians have access to the treatment and care that they need," said Democratic Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber, of Portland, one of the bill's authors, adding that its passage will "be the start of real and transformative change for our justice system."

The measure 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. Drug treatment is to be offered as an alternative to criminal penalties.

Additionally, the bill aims to make it easier to prosecute people who sell drugs and increase access to addictive medication. It also makes it easier to obtain and keep housing without facing discrimination for using that medication.

Democratic Sen. Lew Frederick, of Portland, criticized the bill.

"I'm concerned that it (the bill) will attempt to use the same tactics of the past, and fail, only to reinforce the punishment narrative that has failed for 50 years," he said, adding that the measure could move more people into the court system without making them healthier.

Portland private security guard Michael Bock told Fox News last month that fentanyl overdoses rose 533% in Multnomah County, the state's most populous county, between 2018 and 2022. Dealers act with "absolute impunity," he said, and hand out drugs like it is a "7-Eleven."

"They're doing it in schools, they're doing it parking lots, they're doing it in playgrounds, they're doing it at churches, in front of businesses. They're doing it in broad daylight and nothing is stopping it," he remarked.

Bock said the cheap cost of fentanyl at $0.25 a pill has caused a devastating impact on those in his community.

Comment: Hot Air adds:

The real story here, which most of the news outlets writing about this completely skip over, is that the city of Portland has been a mess ever since 2020. That's when police were defunded and crime began to go up sharply. And thanks to the passage of Measure 110 (also in 2020) drug use on the streets and homelessness have gotten worse as well.

[...]

For the last several months, Gov. Tina Kotek has gone through a series of steps involving a task force making recommendations about what to do about these problems. All of this was political theater designed to reach the obvious conclusion that the state needed to do something about Measure 110. And that's where we are now.

Just a few years ago, Measure 110 was sold as a bold new vision for dealing with the drug problem, one that would replace the old, harsh system of imprisoning people. The results have been a disaster.

[...]

My own take on this, having watched the downfall of Portland from afar for many years now, is that neither decriminalization nor locking people up with solve this problem because this isn't a problem that can be solved. There is no magic pill that turns homeless addicts into reformed, productive members of society. Offering clean needles and endless services won't do it and neither will putting them in jail. Even those interventions that work can't keep up with the pace of new addicts showing up on the streets.

But the addicts aren't the only ones who matter.

That's what I think the ACLU and similar activists tend to overlook. We can't solve the problem of fentanyl addiction, but we can keep the street cleaner and open for business so people who aren't fentanyl addicts have a nice place to live. We can make it possible for people with physical handicaps to move down the sidewalk rather than being forced to traverse the streets because of all the tents blocking the way.

Locking people up is a brute force means of doing that but it's better than not doing anything at all. If the choice is between lots of addicts walking around, stealing and pissing on the street and lots of addicts locked up in jail, jail is the better option for everyone else. At some point, everyone else has to matter.

You don't have to take my word for it. It's Oregon Democrats who are about to repeal Measure 110. They have learned this lesson the hard way. The new bill should pass sometime in the next 10 days.