AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Earlier this year, Oregon lawmakers pulled the plug on the country's most extensive experiment in drug decriminalization. Starting in 2021, possession of small amounts of drugs like methamphetamines, cocaine and heroin were not a crime in the state, and a lot of new money was funneled into drug treatment programs. But this past spring the state passed a bill to reinstate criminal penalties for those drugs. It goes into effect this Sunday. Joining us now to talk more about these changes is Conrad Wilson from Oregon Public Broadcasting. Hi, Conrad.
CONRAD WILSON, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: So, what exactly changes on September 1?
WILSON: So starting Sunday, police will be able to arrest people for possessing small amounts of hard drugs. But right now, drugs are still decriminalized. So...
CHANG: Oh.
WILSON: ...That means, when a police officer comes across someone using drugs, they issue them a citation - kind of like a parking ticket. The idea was that the person calls a hotline number and then gets connected to treatment to make their citation go away, but people haven't really called. And that was one of the big things that critics cited as they pushed to bring back harsher penalties for using drugs.
Things aren't fully going back to the way they were before decriminalization. The lawmakers who voted to change the law have continued to emphasize that addiction is a health care issue. They say it won't necessarily be solved by throwing people in jail, so the new law sets aside some money for what's called deflection. These are partnerships between drug treatment providers and law enforcement to help get people treatment but without being charged with a crime.
CHANG: OK. Well, what do those partnerships look like exactly?
WILSON: That's still very much being figured out. The state left it up to the counties whether or not they would even implement a deflection program. So, so far, 28 of Oregon's 36 counties are, including the most populous ones. Only some of those will be up and running next week, and they're still very much in development. Here's Clackamas County District Attorney John Wentworth advocating earlier this month to get more money for their deflection program.
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JOHN WENTWORTH: No county is going to set up the best idea, best model. We haven't had the time, and we don't have the money to do that just yet. So what my ask is to bear with us. We're trying.
WILSON: Deflection is going to look different in each county. In Clackamas, people will be ordered to court, where they'll be connected with services. If they don't show up, they'll be charged with a crime eventually. In Multnomah County, law enforcement will call drug treatment providers to the scene to help, though police say they expect many people will still go to jail. And in Douglas County, they're not interested in deflection at all. The sheriff says he wants to arrest people for drug possession - so big differences statewide.
CHANG: Right, big differences. Well, what are you hearing from people about how they're feeling about this law change?
WILSON: For the last several years, law enforcement has felt really sidelined by decriminalization. So they've gotten what they wanted, and with that has come real pressure for them to get it right and reduce public drug use and overdose deaths. Kate Lieber is a Democratic state senator in Oregon. She's a former prosecutor and one of the sponsors of the legislation to recriminalize drugs. She says it's a good thing. Police and prosecutors are feeling that pressure.
KATE LIEBER: We need the entire system acting urgently, so that is great to hear. And it's going to take time.
WILSON: As we heard, there are concerns there hasn't been enough money put into these deflection programs. And the counties have been rushed with the rollout, so treatment providers and public health officials are warning, with more people being forced into treatment, there might not be enough capacity to treat everyone. And some who oppose recriminalization argue Oregon's repeal is just going to lead to more incarcerations and not help people with substance use disorders get the care they need, especially for communities of color. There's just a lot of uncertainty about what this is going to look like in the coming months and whether it's going to help.
CHANG: Conrad Wilson covers criminal justice and legal affairs for Oregon Public Broadcasting. Thank you so much, Conrad.
WILSON: You're welcome.
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