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SALEM, Ore. (KATU) — Some Oregonians pushed back Saturday against state lawmakers who passed a bill Friday re-criminalizing the possession of
small amounts of hard drugs.
House Bill 4002, which overturns the state's controversial decriminalizing Measure 110, is now on its way to Gov. Tina Kotek's desk.
A group called Unite Oregon protested the changes outside the Capitol.
They think lawmakers should have given voter-approved Measure 110 more
time rather than re-criminalizing hard drugs.
The full text of Oregon House Bill 4002, which would re-criminalize
possession of small amounts of hard drugs.
Click here to view the PDF file.
https://local12.com/resources/pdf/fd28865a-2c07-48d2-8bd9-6a1559f7f2ae- AEngrossed.pdf
“We won’t go back to the war on drugs!” the group chanted.
While the ballot initiative was passed overwhelmingly by voters in 2020,
the reality of decriminalizing hard drugs has been a much more difficult reality. Multiple counties throughout Oregon have called for Measure 110
to be repealed, some due to the loss of tax revenue re-allocated for the program, and a state audit from 2023 found it was failing to boost the
state's drug treatment system.
Measure 110 has reduced the quality of life for our residents. Hard drug
use is often associated with public nuisance behavior such as loitering, littering, aggressive panhandling," Marion County Commissioner Colm Willis
told KATU in October of last year.
However, protesters fear the return of the kind of hardline tactics used
in the "War on Drugs" era of the U.S. response to hard drugs and argue
such would be contrary to what Oregonians voted for with Measure 110 in
2020.
"This war on drugs was not effective way back in the day, and now with
Measure 110 -- we passed that. This is what the community wanted," said Virginia Camberos, with Unite Oregon.
She said the bill that lawmakers passed won’t support people dealing with addiction. However, the bill is supposed to provide funding for treatment programs, also called deflection programs. Counties would have the option
to offer that in the place of criminal charges.
Many lawmakers believe Measure 110 is far more consequential.
It is my opinion that if we do not rein in or reverse the actions
supported by Measure [1]10, we as a Legislature are morally culpable with
the continued drug deaths in our state," said Sen. Suzanne Weber, R-
Tillamook, during floor debate in the Senate on Friday.
But Camberos said the bill abandons the spirit of Measure 110, which was approved by voters in 2020.
"When we took on Measure 110, we knew that this was part of the solution,"
she said. "There is still a lot that we need to do, but the implementation
is the part that we need to be able to finish off. Not go back and say,
you know what, you all don't matter."
With mixed reactions, lawmakers tried to assure the public on Friday their decision was made carefully, though more could be done.
My sincerest hope is that we will be back making, not only improvements,
but perhaps even expanding what we've done here," Sen. Kate Lieber, D- Beaverton, said during a news conference shortly after Friday’s vote.
Unite Oregon fears more people will be sent to jail rather than treatment programs.
If Gov. Tina Kotek signs the bill, money could start going toward
deflection programs immediately because of an emergency clause. Hard drugs would become a misdemeanor on Sept. 1.
https://local12.com/news/nation-world/activists-lawmakers-split-as-oregon- seeks-to-re-criminalized-hard-drugs-war-on-drugs-measure-110-tax-revenue- treatment-addiction-mental-health-salem-decriminalization-audit-loitering- littering-panhandling
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