Johnathan Walker:Oregon Gov. signs bill reintroducing criminal penalties for drug possession: What to know

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed a bill into law that recriminalizes the possession of small amounts of drugs on Johnathan WalkerMonday.

House Bill 4002, ends the first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law that was enacted three years ago. The new measure will go into effect this fall, the Statesman Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network reported.

Starting Sept. 1, Class E violations — created by Measure 110, which eliminated criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of illicit drugs — will be repealed under the new law. Instead, a person with small amounts of illicit drugs will face a new “drug enforcement misdemeanor."

Decriminalization:A groundbreaking drug law is scrapped in Oregon. What does that mean for decriminalization?

What does it mean to decriminalize drugs?

The American Pharmacists Association’s policy arm last year endorsed decriminalization as a public health measure. Decriminalization is the removal of criminal penalties and prison sentences for the simple use and possession of drugs, while not legalizing or authorizing either. 

“A public health approach is to decriminalize possession and use of substances and to avoid a punitive approach, because it hasn't worked. The drug war has failed, and we need other approaches,” said Bratberg, who helped co-author the APhA’s position. 

When did Oregon decriminalize drugs?

In 2020, 58% of voters in Oregon passed a ballot measure to decriminalize possession of small amounts of illicit drugs and invest in treatment and recovery efforts. The law went into effect in 2021. Measure 110 did not legalize drugs, but it removed prison sentences and imposed $100 fines that could be eliminated if users contacted a hotline to undergo addiction screening.

In the years since, the measure prevented the arrests of thousands of people, said Kassandra Frederique, the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a national organization that advocates for the decriminalization of drugs and backed Measure 110.

“Research is consistently showing that (for) people who are incarcerated in jails and prisons, overdose has gone up substantially. And the fact that when people leave jails and prisons, the likelihood of overdose deaths also goes up substantially in comparison to the general population,” Frederique said.

How will the new law be implemented?

The bill passed with bipartisan support as drug overdose deaths in the state continued to rise. Between 2019 and the 12-month period ending June 30, 2023, overdose deaths from synthetic opioids increased 13-fold from 84 deaths to more than 1,100 in the state.

If a county offers a deflection or diversion program and a prosecutor uses it, the individual could remain on probation for 18 months. Probation violations could result in a 30-day jail sanction and if probation is revoked, the individual could be ordered to a maximum of 180 days in jail.

Of Oregon's 36 counties, 23 had signed "letters of commitment" to establish and offer deflection programs under HB4002.

Kotek's signature on the legislation came with a letter to Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego and House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, to address remaining concerns about implementing the legislation.

She said all will need to commit to "deep coordination" for the deflection programs and bill to work.

During testimony at the legislature, the Oregon Public Defense Commission said it would need to hire an additional 39 full-time public defenders to provide the representation needed for the estimated new cases under the bill. As of Monday, there were 2,873 people currently unrepresented in the state.