Democratic lawmakers in Oregon on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping new bill that would undo a key part of the state’s first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law, a recognition that public opinion has soured on the measure amid rampant public drug use during the fentanyl crisis.
The bill would recriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs as a low-level misdemeanor, enabling police to confiscate them and crack down on their use on sidewalks and in parks, its authors said. It also aims to make it easier to prosecute dealers, to access addiction treatment medication, and to obtain and keep housing without facing discrimination for using that medication.
Why should there be consequences for possessing something that’s been decriminalized? Like it seems like you’re missing the entire point?
People looking for safe injection sites and needle exchanges is a good thing, it’s called harm reduction. That’s a win. That’s one of the main things that decriminalization allows us to do; let people use their drug of choice safely and privately.
Guns are legal, but there’s still penalties for possession in certain circumstances. Why should drugs be different? There’s no reason to be going around in public with a pocket full of meth.