Reverse Measure 110? Bill raises concerns of racial disparity in recriminalizing drugs

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – With the future of Oregon's controversial Measure 110 under consideration, one bill could make it a crime to be caught with small amounts of illicit drugs again.

House Bill 4002 would recriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs – reversing the measure that has received mixed feedback since it was approved by voters in 2020.

The new bill would essentially give people the choice between being charged and treatment when they are caught carrying drugs like fentanyl and meth. Treatment would include completing a behavioral health screening and participating in a “deflection program” in order to sidestep fines.

And though HB 4002 seems to be gaining momentum in the Oregon legislature, local social justice advocates are calling for a pause.

Alice Lundell with the Oregon Justice Resource Center said she is concerned about how the proposed reversal could disproportionately harm communities of color.

"Before House Bill 4002 or any amendments to it get passed, we should be looking at how that is going to affect Oregonians of color,” she said.

A recent letter from the OJRC called for Gov. Tina Kotek and leaders in the legislature to conduct a Racial and Ethnic Impact Statement (REIS) on the bill before moving forward.

Meanwhile, authors of the bill say reversing Measure 110 is not a return to the war on drugs, because police will be required to keep data to help prevent targeting vulnerable communities.

Lundell said that’s not good enough.

"We pass these criminalizing laws around drugs, and they are on their face neutral, but the effects of them are not,” she said. “Sadly, you know, I think we're going to be proved right in the prediction that Black and brown Oregonians will pay the price for this bill."

According to Lundell, some of the rollbacks proposed in HB 4002 include the return of Boyd standard convictions, which allow prosecutors to win convictions against suspected drug dealers if they get caught with a certain amount of drugs – even if they didn't deliver them.

According OJRC, of the 62,403 criminal cases involving delivery convictions from 1990 to 2021, Hispanic people were twice as likely – and Black people nearly five times as likely – to be convicted of Boyd deliveries than white people.

And while the Oregon Justice Resource Center says they agree something needs to be done, they say it needs to be done with protections in mind.

"We only have to look at 50 years of the failed and discredited war on drugs policies, which this bill is really trying to take us back to, to see how this isn't going to have the same level of harm across the whole population,” Lundell said.

Senator Lieber and Representative Kropf also released a statement about the proposed bill.

“Inaction was not an option – people are dying. We are working to put forward a treatment-first plan that will give providers and law enforcement the tools they need to keep people safe and save lives.

“We take the issue of unequal racial impact seriously. We incorporated feedback from a variety of stakeholders to respond to their concerns, and lawmakers will keep working to reimagine the justice system to prevent disproportionate impact and keep everyone safe.”

Read the full letter OJRC sent to Gov. Kotek's desk below:

Stay with KOIN 6 as this story develops.