Oregon’s experiment in tackling drug crisis starts with about 220 people in deflection

By: Ben Botkin – December 12, 2024 || OREGON CAPITAL CHRONICLE

Oregon is in the midst of a new experiment with a group of nearly 220 Oregonians who’ve been caught with drugs.

Six months ago, they would have faced a $100 citation, something most ignored. But with the recriminalization of low-level drug possession Sept. 1, they have gone into a deflection program and are receiving treatment instead of facing a misdemeanor charge.

Their situation — and the new deflection programs planned by 28 counties — were the focus of a discussion Wednesday during a meeting of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Response.

Several who testified and even the committee’s co-chair, Rep. Jason Kropf, D-Bend, said that the funding for the deflection programs is not enough. But county officials from eastern Oregon to Lane and Washington counties also were optimistic about the programs’ initial outcomes, thanks to lawmakers giving them the flexibility to design their programs and experiment as situations change and ideas emerge.

“We decided, of course, to start small and think big,” said Danielle Farr, Washington County’s deflection program coordinator.

So far, 29 people are currently in its deflection program.

In general, the way deflection works is that police officers come across someone with a small amount of drugs who could be charged with misdemeanor possession. If the person is eligible for deflection, they are offered treatment instead of getting charged. A trained peer navigator with personal experience with addiction connects with the person to get them assessed to determine what kind of treatment or other help, like housing, they need.

If the person stays in treatment, they can complete the program and not get charged. If they drop out, they will get charged.

Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton told lawmakers the system, which grew out of House Bill 4002 this year, strikes the right balance between public safety and public health and is a “beautiful experiment” that allows counties to learn from each other.

But the process is not always smooth. Barton said it can be difficult to maintain contact with people who do not engage with treatment and then fail to appear for a court date. That’s why Washington County staffers at the courthouse talk to people when they show up for their first court date to try to get them to join the deflection program and avoid the court process.

Responses to people vary

From county to county, the response when police find eligible drug users varies.

In Lane County, a peer navigator may go directly to the person right away when they hear from Eugene police. But if the call is in Florence, they may have to follow up later because of the distance.

Lane County District Attorney Chris Parosa said the program is tailored for the individual. The goal is to see them make strides toward recovery, even if they continue to use drugs.

“What we’re really looking for is effort from our participants,” he said.

Thirty-five people are in Lane County’s program, he said.

It includes strict requirements. If someone disappears and doesn’t show up for meetings, they are dropped from the program after 30 days.

Geography can affect the county’s response, too.

Malheur County, the second largest geographically in Oregon, has a small population: about 32,000. The fact that people are spread out has made it difficult to identify potential participants and get them into the county’s program.

Malheur County District Attorney David Goldthorpe told lawmakers the county has one person in its program.

The county borders Idaho and has many out-of-state visitors but they don’t qualify, meaning any Idahoan picked up with drugs cannot participate in the deflection program.

Other factors can make someone ineligible, like a criminal history of violent crimes or sex offenses, he said, which helps keep deflection outreach workers safe.

  Ben Botkin covers justice, health and social services issues for the Oregon Capital Chronicle. Ben Botkin has been a reporter since 2003, when he drove from his Midwest locale to Idaho for his first journalism job. He has written extensively about politics and state agencies in Idaho, Nevada and Oregon. Most recently, he covered health care and the Oregon Legislature for The Lund Report. Botkin has won multiple journalism awards for his investigative and enterprise reporting, including on education, state budgets and criminal justice.

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