A woman and her boyfriend prepare to smoke foils of fentanyl on Jan. 23, 2024, in downtown Portland. Oregon voters chose to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs in the November 2020 election. Three years after the trailblazing law took effect, lawmakers have made drug possession a crime again. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
Oregon became the first (and only) state in the nation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of all drugs in early 2021, after 58% of voters approved Measure 110. But as overdose deaths and open-air drug use soared, numerous polls showed Oregonians souring on the law, which many believed would lead to increased treatment for addiction.
Instead, the vast majority of those given a $100 ticket for drug possession simply threw the ticket — and phone number for an addiction treatment hotline — away.
House Bill 4002 creates a new misdemeanor drug possession charge and gives those caught with small amounts of substances like meth and fentanyl a choice: undergo treatment or go to jail for up to six months. Treatment includes a behavioral health screening and participation in state-funded deflection programs.
A police officer holds a container with a small amount of suspected fentanyl powder in Portland, Oregon. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)
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Olson said she thinks it will "take time" to see any effects from the new law, noting the ongoing shortage of police officers in Portland, where the drug problem is most apparent. But she's optimistic about what she sees as a new trajectory for the state.
"I think Portlanders are done with all of those kinds of [far left] policies," she said. "Oregonians are done with those kinds of policies. We're recriminalizing drugs. … We're hiring all the police officers we can get our hands on."
Hannah Ray Lambert is an associate producer/writer with Fox News Digital Originals.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/drug-recriminalization-signal-cultural-shift-progressive-state-portland-trial-attorney-says