Oregon recriminalises hard drugs amid rise in overdose deaths

OREGON has recriminalised hard drugs as officials admitted their strategy was a “huge mistake” after overdose deaths skyrocketed.

Those found in possession of substances such as heroin or methamphetamine now face up to six months in prison, after Tina Kotek, the Oregon governor, signed the measure into law.

Oregon became the first state in the United States to legalise small amounts of hard drugs, including the deadly opioid fentanyl, which was approved by a public vote in 2020.

However, enthusiasm quickly cooled amid a surge in rough sleeping and crime. In Portland, Oregon’s largest city, businesses have fled the downtown area, where shops are boarded up and homeless encampments are widespread.

Drug overdose deaths increased by about 44 per cent in 2021, according to state figures. The same year, a University of Toronto study concluded that the decriminalisation measure was responsible for 182 unintentional fatal drug overdoses.

Multnomah County, which includes Portland, declared a state of emergency earlier this year when overdose deaths from opioids, including fentanyl, almost doubled.

Ted Wheeler, the mayor of Portland, said that officials had made a “huge mistake” in decriminalising drugs without making sure there was a safety net for addicts.

“There’s no question that the state botched the implementation,” he told the New York Times.

“The timing couldn’t have been worse. In terms of the botched implementation: to decriminalise the use of drugs before you actually had the treatment services in place was obviously a huge mistake.”

As part of the decriminalisation measure, bodies known as Behavioural Health Resource Networks received about $260 million in public money to support drug addicts.