How Lane County is responding to Oregon’s new drug possession penalties

Low-level drug possession is once again a jailable offense in Oregon. The change went into effect on September 1, after a three-year experiment with decriminalization.

KLCC’s Love Cross spoke with KLCC reporter Nathan Wilk about how Lane County is responding to these changes, and the plan to create an alternative to prosecution.

Love Cross: First, Nathan, can you remind us how we got here?

Nathan Wilk: Back in 2020, Oregon voters passed Measure 110, which removed criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of drugs. The goal there was to get people struggling with addiction away from jail. A person found in possession would instead get a fine, which could go away if they sought treatment or completed a treatment screening. And the state also committed new funding towards support services.

But over time, the law received a lot of pushback. Critics argued it wasn’t compelling enough people to seek help, and that the rollout of services was too slow. Ultimately, state legislators changed course this year, with Gov. Tina Kotek signing House Bill 4002 in April. This law restores criminal penalties for drug possession, while providing money to create non-criminal deflection programs. As a result, Lane County has received $2.1- million for its program, which its plans to launch at the beginning of October.

Cross: Tell us about deflection. How will it work?

Wilk: Clint Riley is the coordinator for Lane County’s program, and I spoke to him. He says this is about reaching people before they’re put into the criminal justice system.

“This will be a tool for law enforcement to be able to call a navigator out to the scene of the person right there where they’re being arrested, offer them deflection,” said Riley. “If the person agrees to go deflection, then that navigator will then become their case manager, and then take them to a treatment door in our community.”

Deflection could be applied to crimes like drug possession, trespassing and disorderly conduct when tied to substance abuse or a behavioral disorder. Riley says the county is now working to hire navigators with lived addiction experience, and to find housing for future participants in the program. But, he says it may take months to reach full capacity. And he warns this will all be voluntary, meaning a client will need to agree to go through the process.

Cross: What happens if someone refuses to go through that deflection program?

Wilk: They’d be charged with a crime. If they’re found guilty of drug possession, the standard penalty would be probation first, with mandatory addiction treatment. If a person violates those terms, they could land in jail for up to 180 days.

Cross: You said earlier that the deflection program is launching next month, but what happens to the people who are being arrested right now?

Wilk: When I spoke to Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner, he said his department isn’t waiting to start probable cause arrests. And Riley also says it won’t be possible to apply deflection retroactively. However, Lane County District Attorney Chris Parosa told me he’s not seeking convictions on certain cases from this period of time. Instead, he says people that would’ve been a good fit for deflection—if it was in place—will be routed towards separate jail diversion services.

Cross: What else are law enforcement officials telling you about what they’re seeing right now?

Wilk: They say it’s still very early, but Parosa did tell me he’s seeing fewer cases than he was initially expecting. He says some of today’s law enforcement officers weren’t working before Measure 110 was in place, and could be unfamiliar with doing these types of arrests. So the county is developing training materials, and Chief Skinner says the Eugene Police Department is also working to prepare its patrol staff.

Cross: What’s still unknown about how this will work?

Wilk: Skinner says there needs to be a long-term strategy to continue supporting and funding the deflection program, after these initial state dollars run out.

“I could see us, over the course of the next year and two years, having a lot of people in the system that are actually wanting to be on a path to wellness,” said Skinner, “and so we need to make sure that we have the mechanism by which they can do that.”

Also, while there are two places in this process where someone could get into treatment before they’re sent to jail, it’s still unclear where most of the people found in possession of drugs will actually land.