老夫子传媒

Just before Portland鈥檚 City Council on public drug use last week, Mayor Ted Wheeler described what he鈥檇 observed on his way to work that afternoon: 鈥淭he last time I saw somebody consuming what I believe to be fentanyl publicly on our streets was less than five minutes ago, three blocks from City Hall,鈥� the Democrat .

The Portland ban, approved unanimously but subject to legislative approval, was the latest repudiation of the state鈥檚 recent, groundbreaking approach to drug use.

Oregon voters in 2020 passed Measure 110, a first-in-the-nation law decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of controlled substances such as heroin, methamphetamines, cocaine and fentanyl.

Three years later, public drug use has wearied even the most tolerant of Oregonians. In recent months, Portland has reeled from a record number of opioid overdoses, bad press and a drop in convention and hotel bookings linked to the perception that the city is disorderly and unsafe.

Now, the Oregon law faces significant overhaul or repeal, a prospect likely to slow movements in other states to treat addiction as a public health matter, not a criminal one.

鈥淚f we don鈥檛 figure out how to get this right, efforts to try this approach in other states probably don鈥檛 launch,鈥� said Oregon state Rep. Rob Nosse, a Democrat from Portland who worked on implementation of Measure 110 and who continues to support it.

What went wrong? A found that the law鈥檚 rollout was beset by bureaucratic fumbles and a short implementation timeline; a study also has shown the measure鈥檚 civil ticketing approach had tepid law enforcement support. More critically, it coincided with a national fentanyl crisis that overwhelmed the country 鈥� not just Oregon 鈥� with a cheap, addictive and deadly drug.

The measure also took effect during a long-standing homelessness crisis in Oregon and other West Coast states that made public drug use more visible 鈥� and discomfiting 鈥� in neighborhoods where people live on the streets. It鈥檚 particularly problematic in Portland, Oregon鈥檚 biggest city, where high rates of commercial property vacancies have hollowed out some downtown sectors.

鈥淧eople think that Measure 110 has been harmful to Oregon,鈥� said pollster John Horvick of DHM Research, who conducted that found 6 in 10 voters think it has made drug addiction, homelessness and crime worse in Oregon. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really clear. There鈥檚 no doubt that that鈥檚 where the majority of people are.鈥�

An even more in Oregon found that 64% of voters want to repeal portions of the measure, including possibly bringing back criminal penalties for possession, and 56% support repealing it entirely. The poll, conducted by Emerson College Polling, was commissioned by the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions, an Alexandria, Virginia-based organization that opposes decriminalization nationally.

Several rural Oregon counties, but also suburban Clackamas County adjacent to Portland, are considering non-binding advisory ballot measures during the May 2024 election to ask voters whether they think Measure 110 should be repealed.

A group of prominent civic leaders, led by the state鈥檚 former head of the Department of Corrections, Max Williams, is pressuring state lawmakers to re-criminalize possession of small amounts of controlled substances, even as they maintain funding for detox and recovery services. It鈥檚 an approach Williams and others have dubbed 鈥渁mend, not end,鈥� but it comes with an implicit threat: If the legislature fails to make timely changes to Measure 110, they鈥檒l ask voters to repeal it in 2024.

Republican state Rep. Jeff Helfrich, a former Portland police officer, argues that without the threat of criminal conviction or prison, there鈥檚 no incentive for people with substance use disorders to stop using.

鈥淚 am all about let鈥檚 get people help, let鈥檚 get 鈥檈m what they need,鈥� said Helfrich, who represents Hood River, a community about an hour to the east of Portland. 鈥淏ut you have to deter the behavior at some point. And how do you deter that behavior? That鈥檚 the million-dollar question.鈥�

Many specialists who work in recovery, though, say reverting to a punitive system to treat addiction won鈥檛 get people sober or keep users from overdosing. That鈥檚 what they鈥檝e learned in a decade of experience providing service to thousands of opioid users, said Joe Bazeghi, director of engagement at Recovery Works NW, which recently unveiled the first new detox center in the state to open with Measure 110 money.

The 16-bed facility in Portland is expected to serve at least 1,200 people a year, in particular those addicted to fentanyl. People can spend about five days under medically supervised detox before being offered a transition to alcohol and drug treatment and supported housing, Bazeghi said.

鈥淲hat we know across the board is that when treatment is voluntarily engaged with, outcomes are better,鈥� Bazeghi said. 鈥淎nd we can say that from experience, and we can say that across all our disciplines. That will be the docs, that will be the therapists, that will be the counselors, the peers, the case managers. Everybody backs that up.鈥�

Other states reconsider

Just to the north in Washington, lawmakers this year raised the state鈥檚 penalty for drug possession to a gross misdemeanor. It鈥檚 a harsher classification than a misdemeanor, but not a felony. They also criminalized public drug use.

Both actions were in response to a 2021 Washington Supreme Court decision that found the state鈥檚 felony drug possession law unconstitutional; a temporary law passed after the ruling lowered felony offenses to misdemeanors. People found in violation while the law was a misdemeanor had to be referred twice to treatment before they could be charged with possession of a controlled substance.

The reaction to Washington鈥檚 brief experiment with lesser penalties for possession of a controlled substance proved too politically fraught, said Alison Holcomb, the director of political strategies for ACLU Washington, which supports decriminalization. Donors who had supported a statewide ballot measure similar to Oregon鈥檚 were spooked by the backlash, Holcomb said.

鈥淭he first impact that we saw was the funders, but then we also saw in the primary and general election in 2022 these narratives being leveraged by candidates,鈥� she said. 鈥淐andidates that were looking for easy wins on 1980s, tough-on-crime, War on Drugs rhetoric, were explaining or were arguing that it would be a disaster for Washington to move in the direction of decriminalization.鈥�

Maine lawmakers and policy experts have been watching Oregon carefully. There, the considered but failed in 2021 to pass a bill similar to Oregon鈥檚 measure that would turn minor drug possession into civil fines. Winifred Tate, director of the Maine Drug Policy Lab at Colby College, said she鈥檚 hopeful discussions will continue. Maine is a small place, Tate said, with people who are committed to addressing its addiction and overdose crises.

鈥淧eople know each other and have deep relationships,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat creates opportunities for political change that might be harder on a bigger scale.鈥�

Yet many in Maine are split on whether to move forward with a health care or law enforcement approach to future drug policy. Those fissures have emerged in discussions about how to spend a $235 million settlement with the drug companies that contributed to the opioid crisis.

The quandaries are similar in California, Colorado, and other states considering decriminalization or other approaches aimed at reducing overdoses, including supervised injection sites. Colorado lawmakers a bill allowing supervised drug use in some cities. And in California last year, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to reduce overdoses that would have allowed supervised injection sites.

Oregon鈥檚 path

Oregon laid out its shortcomings in a released earlier this year that described the launch of Measure 110 as 鈥渂eset by delays and public friction鈥� that could have been addressed with more proactive management by the Oregon Health Authority. Oregon health officials have acknowledged they were slow to roll out the initial $300 million for Behavioral Health Resource Networks, the treatment and recovery services established in each Oregon county to help fill gaps in addiction services.

The audit also pointed out that the measure had 鈥渦nrealistic timelines鈥� for implementation. The law decriminalizing possession took effect just three months after the election, before detox and recovery networks were fully built out. It was 鈥渁 very ambitious timeline,鈥� acknowledged Kellen Russoniello, a senior policy counsel at the Drug Policy Alliance, the New York-based advocacy group behind the ballot measure.

Police in much of the state also were slow to issue civil tickets, which fine drug users up to $100 unless they call an addiction services hotline to have the penalty waived. A study conducted by researchers at Portland State University found that police are skeptical of Measure 110鈥瞫 ability to motivate people to voluntarily seek treatment. As a result, they鈥檙e less willing to hand out citations, said Christopher Campbell, a co-author of the study, and an associate professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the school.

鈥淲e spoke to one officer from an urban sheriff鈥檚 office and they said that they believe Measure 110 took away the system鈥檚 ability to help people recognize rock bottom and kickstart a new life void of drug use,鈥� Campbell said. 鈥淪o this, along with many other reasons, leaves officers feeling like giving out that citation really isn鈥檛 worth their time.鈥�

In 2020 when Oregon voters approved the measure, the state had the second-highest rate of substance use disorder in the nation and was ranked last in providing access to addiction treatment. Fatal overdoses were on the rise.

The status quo wasn鈥檛 working and voters knew it, said Tera Hurst, executive director of Health Justice Recovery Alliance, a coalition of organizations working to defend the new law.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 an accident that they overwhelmingly said: 鈥楴o, we believe that addiction is a health care issue. We don鈥檛 want to send people to jail and we don鈥檛 want to waste our money on that, and it doesn鈥檛 work,鈥欌�� Hurst said.

Hurst notes that since Measure 110 passed, thousands of people are getting help with substance use disorders. In the , 41 organizations received $59 million to ramp up treatment, recovery and peer support programs. Other more rural parts of the state are seeing similar levels of resources, she said, many for the first time.

鈥淭here鈥檚 more outreach, there鈥檚 more drop-in centers, there鈥檚 more housing,鈥� Hurst said. 鈥淚f you stay in the bubble of everything鈥檚 awful, you miss all the good that鈥檚 happening around.鈥�

So far, Oregon lawmakers have resisted calls to repeal the measure, although they did pass a bipartisan law this year making it a misdemeanor to possess 1 gram or more of fentanyl or five or more pills. Other states slammed by the fentanyl crisis toughened laws around the drug, too, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. At least 103 laws were enacted, including those that harden penalties for possession and distribution.

This fall, some Oregon lawmakers will travel overseas to Portugal to see how officials there have managed more than two decades of decriminalization. 鈥淭his will give us a greater understanding of what trials and tribulations Portugal went through over their journey,鈥� said Democratic state Sen. Floyd Prozanski, a municipal prosecutor who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Advocates continue to plead for more time, saying that such a massive societal shift in how Americans consider addiction requires more time to take hold. And no state is immune from discussions on how to address an epidemic of opioid-related deaths. Accidental overdoses are now the for young people in 37 states.

鈥淚鈥檓 not going to say this has been a pretty rollout,鈥� Hurst said, 鈥渂ut I don鈥檛 know that I鈥檝e ever really heard of any new, transformational law going into effect without a lot of bumps.鈥�

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