the person will be given the option to enter a program and connect with a medical provider or other services to start their recovery. If they do, they will not face any jail time, a criminal charge, and they won’t need a lawyer. If the person declines to enter a deflection program, they will be charged with the misdemeanor, but will be offered probation with treatment if it’s available. Under the bill, the person will only serve jail time if they violate or fail their probation. Everyone who is charged through the court system will eventually have their cases expunged. The emphasis on probation instead of jail in the courts is a requirement in all counties, including the 13 that have not opted for deflection programs.
For a deflection program to succeed, it needs to create a pathway – or bridge – to connect the drug user to treatment, one expert said. Dr. Todd Korthuis, an addiction treatment specialist at Oregon Health & Science University, said the state will need strong pathways. “I think there’s an opportunity for these legislated deflections programs to meaningfully connect people to treatment who are looking for it,” Korthuis said in an interview. “And yet I haven’t seen any plans around this, and it matters a lot – how they’re doing it, where they’re doing it and how well funded they are.” The strongest pathways, he said, will need to be a “true partnership” between deflection programs and treatment providers who prescribe addiction medications. “I think there’s an opportunity for these legislated deflections programs to meaningfully connect people to treatment who are looking for it” Dr. Moxie Loeffler, Oregon medical director of Community Medical Services in Salem, treats people with opioid addiction. She said the bill’s passage will help criminal justice officials and health care to work together closely. “This passage could be part of building a bridge between
The new system will include new and expanded addiction treatment facilities throughout the state. Lawmakers also provided more money for recovery houses so people have a place to stay off the streets and away from the direct temptation of using. These services are supposed to aid people in the years ahead and gradually pull Oregon out of its fentanyl-fueled drug crisis. But drugs will continue to flood the state. The programs won’t all work the same, and each county may face different obstacles. These new programs could forge new connections among siloed professionals involved with drug users, but specialists do not expect the rollouts to be smooth. Critics say a lot is at stake and that a lot of parts need to fit together to make this new approach work. Lifting Barriers Much of the public attention on House Bill 4002 centered on unwinding Measure 110 by recriminalizing drug possession. But the bill also aims to boost access to addiction medication and expand treatment options. It will prevent commercial and Medicaid insurers from requiring a patient to get a prior authorization or their permission before paying for a medication. Prior authorizations can be a barrier to treatment. The bill will also allow pharmacists to provide emergency refills of addiction medication treatment, allowing patients to stay on the medication if it’s lost or stolen. The bill will offer drug users the chance to stay out of the criminal justice system, with jail as a last resort. In counties that set up deflection programs, when police officers find someone with a small quantity of hard drugs,
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April 2024 | The Business Review
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