Fentanyl possession is again ILLEGAL in Oregon after state rushes to roll back laws that saw drug use and homeless overwhelm cities

Fentanyl possession has been made illegal again in Oregon after the state rushed to roll back laws that saw drug use and homelessness take over cities. 

Oregon lawmakers passed a bill to recriminalize possession of drugs weeks after Gov. Tina Kotek declared state of emergency over the fentanyl crisis in Portland. 

A bill recriminalizing the possession of small amounts of drugs was passed by the Oregon Legislature on March 1. 

The original bill called Measure 110 passed in 2020 and saw the possession of street drugs like heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine become a non-criminal violation, equal to that of a parking ticket. 

Oregon 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. 

Fentanyl possession has been made illegal again in Oregon after a new bill was passed by lawmakers on March 1  (Pictured: Officer Donny Mathew of the Portland Police Bureau's bike squad, stands next to a person who appears to be passed out)

Efforts from lawmakers come as governments struggle to respond to the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history. Oregon has seen a 210 percent increase in fentanyl-related deaths since the initial decriminalization bill was passed in 2020 

House Bill 4002 reverses a key part of the state's drug decriminalization law, which was the first of its kind in the U.S.

Efforts from lawmakers come as governments struggle to respond to the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history.

Oregon has seen a 190 percent increase in overdose deaths since the initial decriminalization bill went into effect in February 2021, according to the CDC. 

In the 12 months leading up to February 2021, there were 861 overdose deaths in Oregon; that number increased to 1,650 deaths in the same 12-month period ending in September 2023.

When Oregon voters approved the landmark plan to decriminalize hard drugs three 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. 

The pandemic further hurt Portland's downtown, causing the streets to become an open-air drug market. 

The Oregon Poison Center has urged people to keep young kids away from the street drugs, and specifically fentanyl. 

About 80 percent of children aged one-and-a-half to 16-years-old were exposed to the deadly drug in their homes, according to state health officials. 

The Portland Police Bureau reported in September 2023 that nine children ingested fentanyl since June. Five of them died and seven of them were under six-years-old. 

Oregon's Democratic Governor declared a state of emergency over the fentanyl crisis in Portland at the end of January. (Pictured: Chris, 28, is seen smoking crack in downtown Portland) 

Oregon has seen a 190 percent increase in overdose deaths since the initial decriminalization bill went into effect in February 2021

The open-air drug market in Oregon has also made the homelessness rates raise. (Pictured: A homeless encampment under Morrison Bridge in Portland, Oregon in August 2023) 

Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and can cause death or serious injury to children under six, health officials said. 

Now, even liberal politicians - like Oregon's Democrat Governor Tina Kotek - are ready to end the experiment before the drug crisis blows any further out of control. 

The bill now waits on Kotek's signature. In January she said that she is open to signing a bill that would roll back decriminalization.

The state Senate approved the new bill in a 21-8 vote after the House passed it 51-7. 

On Thursday, Kotek said: 'House Bill 4002 will require persistent action and commitment from state and local government to uphold the intent that the legislature put forward: to balance treatment for individuals struggling with addiction and accountability.' 

Oregon's Democratic Governor declared a state of emergency over the fentanyl crisis in Portland at the end of January. 

'With this bill, we are doubling down on our commitment to make sure Oregonians have access to the treatment and care that they need,' said Democratic Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber, of Portland, one of the bill's authors.

She added that its passage will 'be the start of real and transformative change for our justice system.' 

The bill is expected to come into effect on September 1 and will allow police to charge users with a misdemeanor crime that could see them in jail for up to 180 days. 

The bill also aims to make it easier to prosecute people who sell drugs. It increases access to addiction medication, and to obtain and keep housing without facing discrimination for using that medication. 

Under the current bill, police are only allowed to cite people for minor possession of street drugs, with the option to either pay a $100 fine or call a helpline for substance abuse screening. 

Gov. Tina Kotek said in January that she is open to signing a bill that would roll back decriminalization

The bill also aims to make it easier to prosecute people who sell drugs. It increases access to addiction medication, and to obtain and keep housing without facing discrimination for using that medication

Kotek, along with her colleagues Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, issued the state of emergency. 

They directed agencies to work with first responders in connecting people addicted to the synthetic opioid with resources including drug treatment programs and to crack down on drug sales.

In the 90 days following the declaration, Fentanyl addicts who interacted with first responders in Portland's downtown were triaged by the new command center. 

Staff in the center can connect addicts with various resources from a bed in a drug treatment center to meeting with a behavioral health clinician to help with registering for food stamps.

'Our country and our state have never seen a drug this deadly addictive, and all are grappling with how to respond,' Kotek said.

Along with the bill, the Legislature approved a $2million program that will educated children from kindergarten to 12th grade on fentanyl, along with a social media campaign on the dangers of the drug, Oregon Live reported. 

The helpline from the previous bill will still be available, though it was rarely used over the years. 

Tera Hurst, the executive director of the Oregon Health Justice Recovery Alliance, the group that supported Measure 110, said that the parts of the initial bill will remain 'intact.'

Much of Measure 110 was funded by the Drug Policy Alliance, an organization based in New York that advocates for drug decriminalization. 

Kellen Russoniello, a senior policy council for the alliance said: 'For the movement, this is more about what can we learn from this.'   

'I don’t think anybody is saying this is the end. This is a detour.'