Oregon's Democrat governor signs law making drug possession a crime again after ... trends now
Oregon's Democrat governor signed a bill recriminalizing drug possession after its lax policy led to soaring overdose rates and rampant homelessness across the state.
Governor Tina Kotek signed the law on Monday that rolls back a 2020 voter-approved measure that saw the possession of street drugs like heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine become a non-criminal violation, equal to that of a parking ticket.
When Oregon voters approved the landmark plan to decriminalize hard drugs four years ago, they thought that putting an end to the jailing of drug users would do good for the state and potentially spread throughout the country.
However overdoses soared as the state struggled to fund the enhanced treatment centers at the core of the decriminalization plan and public opinion has soured on it as public drug use has become more visible because of growing homelessness.
The state has seen a 210 percent increase in fentanyl-related deaths since the initial decriminalization bill was passed and Kotek declared a state of emergency over the fentanyl crisis in Portland in January.
Drug possession has been recriminalizing in Oregon after its lax policy led to soaring overdose rates and rampant homelessness across the state
Governor Tina Kotek signed the law on Monday that rolls back a 2020 voter-approved measure that saw the possession of street drugs become a non-criminal violation
Following decriminalization, overdoses soared as the state struggled to fund the enhanced treatment centers and public opinion soured on the policy
Kotek declared a state of emergency over the fentanyl crisis in Portland in January to battle the city's debilitating fentanyl crisis
The state has seen a 210 percent increase in fentanyl-related deaths since the initial decriminalization bill was passed
In 2023, 16 children were exposed to fentanyl in the state and 539 kids were exposed to the deadly drug across the country, according to KATU2.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development annual homelessness assessment report, on a single night in January 2023 Oregon had 20,142 people experiencing homelessness and 64.6 percent of them were
