PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon’s first law to decriminalize possession of small amounts of heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs in favor of an emphasis on addiction treatment faces strong headwinds in the progressive state after an explosion of demand public. drug use fueled by the proliferation of fentanyl and an increase in opioid deaths, including those of children.
“The inability of people to live their daily lives without encountering open-air drug use is very pressing in the minds of urban people,” said John Horvick, vice president of the polling firm DHM Research. “That has changed a lot of people’s perspective on what they think Measure 110 is.”
When the law was approved by 58% of Oregon voters three years ago, supporters championed Measure 110 as a revolutionary approach that would transform addiction by minimizing the penalties for drug use and instead investing in recovery.
But even top Democratic lawmakers who backed the law, which is likely to dominate the next legislative session, say they are now open to revisiting it after the largest increase in synthetic opioid deaths among states that have reported their numbers.
The cycle of addiction and homelessness caused by fentanyl is most visible in Portland, where it is not uncommon to see people shooting up in broad daylight on busy city streets.
“Everything is on the table,” said Democratic state Sen. Kate Lieber, co-chair of a new joint legislative committee created to address addiction. “We have to do something to make sure we have safer streets and we’re saving lives.”
Oregon was the first state in the nation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs. AP When the law was approved by 58% of Oregon voters three years ago, supporters championed Measure 110 as a revolutionary approach that would transform addiction by minimizing penalties for drug use and investing instead in recovery.AP
Measure 110 directed revenue from the state’s cannabis tax to drug addiction treatment services, while decriminalizing possession of so-called “personal use” quantities of illicit drugs. Possession of less than one gram of heroin, for example, is only subject to a fine and a maximum fine of $100.
Those caught with small amounts of drugs can have their citations dismissed by calling a 24-hour hotline to complete an addiction test within 45 days, but those who fail to do so are not penalized for not paying the fine. In the first year after the law went into effect in February 2021, only 1% of people who received possession citations sought help through the hotline, state auditors found.
Critics of the law say this does not create an incentive to seek treatment.
Republican lawmakers have urged Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek to call a special session to address the issue before the Legislature reconvenes in February. They have proposed tougher penalties for possession and other drug-related crimes, such as mandatory treatment and easing restrictions to hold people under the influence in facilities such as hospitals if they pose a danger to themselves or others.
“Treatment should be a requirement, not a suggestion,” a group of Republican state representatives said in a letter to Kotek.
Law enforcement officials who have testified before the new legislative committee on addictions have proposed reinstating drug possession as a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail or a $6,250 fine.
“We don’t believe returning to incarceration is the answer, but restoring a misdemeanor (class A) possession with opportunities for diversion is critically important,” said Jason Edmiston, police chief of the small rural northeastern town of Hermiston. of Oregon. he told the committee.
However, data shows that decades of criminalizing possession have not deterred people from using drugs. In 2022, nearly 25 million Americans, about 8% of the population, reported using illicit drugs other than marijuana in the past year, according to the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
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Some lawmakers have suggested focusing on criminalizing public drug use rather than possession. Alex Kreit, assistant professor of law at Northern Kentucky University and director of its Center on Addiction Law and Policy, said such an approach could help curb visible drug use on city streets, but it wouldn’t address what’s happening. largely considered the root cause: homelessness.
“There are states that don’t have decriminalization and that have the same difficult problems with public health and law enforcement and just quality of life issues related to large-scale homeless populations in downtown areas,” he said, mentioning California as example. .
Supporters of Oregon’s approach say decriminalization is not necessarily to blame, as many other states with stricter drug laws have also reported increases in fentanyl deaths.
But estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that among states reporting data, Oregon had the largest increase in synthetic opioid overdose deaths when comparing 2019 and the 12-month period. which ended on June 30, a 13-fold increase of 84 deaths. to more than 1,100.
Among the next highest was neighboring Washington state, which saw its estimated synthetic opioid overdose deaths increase sevenfold when comparing those same time periods, CDC data shows.
Nationally, overdose deaths from synthetic opioids like fentanyl approximately doubled during that period. About two-thirds of all fatal overdoses in the United States in the 12 months ending June 30 involved synthetic opioids, federal data show.
Supporters of Oregon’s law say it faced a perfect storm of broader forces, including the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health staffing shortages and the fentanyl crisis, which did not reach a fever pitch until after that the law came into effect in early 2021.
Law enforcement officials who have testified before the new legislative committee on addictions have proposed reinstating drug possession as a class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail or a $6,250 fine.
A group of Oregon lawmakers recently traveled to Portugal, which decriminalized personal drug possession in 2001, to learn more about its policy. State Rep. Lily Morgan, the only Republican lawmaker on the trip, said Portugal’s approach was interesting but didn’t necessarily apply to Oregon.
“The most obvious difference is that they still don’t deal with fentanyl and methamphetamine,” he said, noting that the country also has universal health care.
Despite public perception, the law has made some progress by directing $265 million in cannabis tax revenue to bolster the state’s new addiction treatment infrastructure.
The law also created what are known as Behavioral Health Resource Networks in each county, which provide care regardless of ability to pay. The networks have ensured that about 7,000 people enter treatment from January to March of this year, doubling from nearly 3,500 people from July to September 2022, state data shows.
Funding from the law has also been key for mental health and addictions service providers because it has “created a sustainable and predictable funding home for services they’ve never had before,” said Heather Jefferis, executive director of the Council on Behavioral Health. of Oregon, which represents these providers.
Horvick, the pollster, said public support for expanded treatment remains high despite rejection of the law.
“It would be a mistake to repeal 110 now because I think that would set us back,” said Lieber, the Democratic state senator. “Simply repealing it will not solve our problem. Even if we didn’t have 110, we would still have major problems.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn