Democratic lawmakers in Oregon on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping new bill that would undo a key part of the state’s first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law, a recognition that public opinion has soured on the measure amid rampant public drug use during the fentanyl crisis. The bill would recriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs as a low-level misdemeanor, enabling police to confiscate them and crack down on their use on sidewalks and in parks, its authors said. It also aims to make it easier to prosecute dealers, to access addiction treatment medication, and to obtain and keep housing without facing discrimination for using that medication.
An ambitious law, Measure 110, set forth a more humane way to address addiction to fentanyl, amphetamines, opioids, and other substances, sparking a political backlash. E. Tammy Kim reports.
Oregon House Republicans introduced a bill on Thursday to end voter-approved Measure 110 a first-in-the-nation law that decriminalized small amounts of hard drugs while aiming to expand addiction treatment.
SALEM — Oregon House Republican lawmakers on Thursday, Jan. 11 released details of a proposal that would end Measure 110 by mandating misdemeanor penalties for drug possession and treatment to