OREGON UPDATES
With Addiction Bill Passed, Now Oregon Faces Biggest Challenge Counties have to build new treatment facilities to deflect people away from the criminal justice system but they only have a few
months before possession is recriminalized Salem, OR | March 22, 2024 | By Ben Botkin, Oregon Capital Chronicle
To succeed, the plan needs the cooperation of county officials, police, prosecutors, public defenders, medical providers and others. It requires the creation of new programs and allocates $211 million to build and expand addiction services, treatment and related programs across the state. The new programs that are supposed to deflect people away from the criminal justice system are not supposed to be cut from the same template. From county to county, they will look different – and run differently. Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton compared the work ahead to building an airplane. The Legislature has provided the airplane parts. But local agencies will need to put them together in a program to take off. So far, 23 of Oregon’s 36 counties have said they plan to start new programs. The list encompasses all urban counties in the Portland area, Eugene and all the state’s larger cities, as well as many rural counties. An earlier version of the proposal – that lawmakers ultimately scuttled – would have made the deflection programs mandatory throughout the state – with a requirement that a drug user get an assessment and attend at least one follow-up appointment. But the final bill is more flexible: It directs law enforcement agencies and behavioral health entities to collaborate on building programs to steer drug users toward treatment, recovery services, housing and other services. By giving law enforcement, prosecutors and local officials a voice in how the programs will operate, lawmakers were able to garner enough support to get the law passed. But the big question now is: Will this approach work? Oregon ventured alone in decriminalizing drugs. Now it is trying another approach, that exists in Seattle but is untested in Oregon. Officials don’t have much time to build the new system either: They need to have new programs in place by September when the misdemeanor kicks in. And in the meantime, drug users will continue to overdose at a high rate.
T his session, lawmakers culminated months of sets Oregon on a new path to tackle drug addiction. House Bill 4002, which Gov. Tina Kotek said she’ll sign, directs local agencies to build a new system to recriminalize drugs while trying to shepherd people addicted to drugs toward recovery. Though it will create a new misdemeanor in September, it emphasizes treatment over jail time. discussions and debate that roped in everyone from police officers to addiction specialists with a bill that
38
The Business Review | April 2024
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online