Our state legislature is zeroing in on the changes they want to
make to Measure 110. Currently simple possession can result in a $100
fine, which the user can avoid by seeking treatment.
The Democrats want
to make simple possession a class C misdemeanor, which can result in up
to a month in jail. The retrumplicans want to make it a class A
misdemeanor, which could result in up to a year in jail. To put this in perspective, the Portland police are reporting that they don't always
have enough cars available for the dealers they're catching.
This article expands on my opinion that, whatever the problem, our
state government tries to do as little as possible.
Our last governor
fell into the job when her predecessor resigned to avoid being recalled.
She was even more inclined to doing nothing than her predecessors.
"Oregon?s Drug Decriminalization Aimed to Make Cops a Gateway to Rehab,
Not Jail. State Leaders Failed to Make It Work.
Just over three years since Oregon voters passed Ballot Measure 110,
elected officials want to repeal key elements, blaming the law for open
drug use and soaring overdoses. But it?s their own hands-off approach
that isn?t working, advocates say."
"It's a scene police say plays out all too frequently in downtown
Portland.
An officer hands someone a $100 ticket for possessing the deadly
narcotic fentanyl and a card with a treatment hotline number. Call this number, the officer says, and the ticket goes away. The person caught
with fentanyl never calls. The ticket goes unpaid.
?We?ve talked to exactly two people that have actually called that
number," said Sgt. Jerry Cioeta of the Portland Police Bureau. He said
last year his bike squad handed out more than 700 tickets ?and got
absolutely nowhere with it.?"
"The Legislature, the court system and the bureaucracy under two
governors ignored or rejected proposed solutions as seemingly
straightforward as designing a specialized ticket to highlight treatment information. They declined to fund a proposed $50,000 online course that would have instructed cops how to better use the new law. They took no
action on recommendations to get police, whose leaders campaigned
against the ballot measure, talking with treatment providers after decriminalization passed."
"Mike Marshall, director of the rehab and prevention advocacy nonprofit Oregon Recovers, said he considered the threat of jail an important
motivator and didn?t want voters to pass Measure 110. But once they did,
he was dismayed that state officials didn?t step forward to fulfill the measure?s goals.
?They didn't see that the voters gave them this really imperfect tool
but were committed to reducing substance use disorder rates and
increased access to treatment,? Marshall said.
?Instead,? he said, ?they simply tried to do the least amount of work to administer it to the letter of the law.?"
"In the absence of a ticketing system that made sense, the outcome was predictable.
In the first 15 months after Measure 110 took effect, state auditors
found, only 119 people called the state?s 24-hour hotline. That meant
the cost of operating the hotline amounted to roughly $7,000 per call.
The total number of callers as of early December of last year had only amounted to 943.
Part of the bottleneck was that police were not eager to issue citations
for drug possession.
?Why would I do that?? one officer told researchers from Portland State University in 2021.
Another criticized the $100 fine as being low. ?Lower than somebody
failing to use a turn signal,? the officer was quoted as saying.
Police gave out only about 2,500 citations a year, compared with the
roughly 9,500 arrests they made annually in years before Measure 110.
The problem, Marshall believes, is that nobody told the police why they remained relevant to addressing drug use after Measure 110 passed."
https://www.propublica.org/article/oregon-leaders-hampered-drug- decriminalization-effort
The police on bike patrol in Portland are reporting that they have
to carry two Narcan kits because it takes that much to revive the
average addict.
TB
Is that like “seeking” employment while you’re on unemployment compensation. I have been seeking that large trophy bass but I haven’t caught it yet.
On 2/20/2024 9:31 AM, George.Anthony wrote:
Is that like “seeking” employment while you’re on unemployment
compensation. I have been seeking that large trophy bass but I haven’t
caught it yet.
Heading to Florida in a few days and got my out of state license bought
and in the tackle box. The bass fishing down there has always been
great for me.
On 2/20/2024 10:02 AM, sticks wrote:
On 2/20/2024 9:31 AM, George.Anthony wrote:
Is that like “seeking” employment while you’re on unemployment
compensation. I have been seeking that large trophy bass but I haven’t >>> caught it yet.
Heading to Florida in a few days and got my out of state license
bought and in the tackle box. The bass fishing down there has always
been great for me.
Good luck. They raise 'em big down there.
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