Oregon sheriffs, police chiefs back new stance on drug possession

Oregon’s sheriffs and police chiefs announced Monday they will support changes in state laws to make user-amount drug possession charges misdemeanors, not felonies, as long as there is mandated treatment.

Their stance drew praise from Oregon’s attorney general.

Here’s the full joint statement from the Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association and Oregon Association Chiefs of Police:

Oregon Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police recognize that every community and most of our citizens are touched in one way or another by the damaging impacts of drug addiction.

We understand that it ruins lives, breaks hearts, burdens families and robs our communities of individuals with potential.

Too often, individuals with addiction issues find their way to the doorstep of the criminal justice system when they are arrested for possession of a controlled substance.

The penalty is often a felony drug conviction where the person may receive a jail sentence, are placed on probation and receive limited treatment services.

Unfortunately, felony convictions in these cases also include unintended and collateral consequences including barriers to housing and employment and a disparate impact on minority communities.

Oregon Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police are committed to work with the Governor, Attorney General, District Attorneys, members of the Oregon State Legislature and stakeholders to craft a more thoughtful approach to drug possession when it is the only crime committed.

Oregon Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police recommend that user-amount drug possession convictions be treated as misdemeanors and recommend that offenders be carefully assessed and given individualized, mandated treatment as a condition of their conviction.

If successful, drug abusers will return to health and productivity and will not commit future crimes where they become further entangled in the criminal justice system.

This approach continues to demand accountability while applying limited resources to treatment and services to address the underlying addiction and prevent future crime. We believe our limited criminal justice resources should be focused on addressing violent crime and property crime problems that destroy community livability.

We do not support any reduction in Community Corrections funding through “savings” for this historic felony level population, as this would undermine current recidivism reduction work and harm community-based efforts that are a result of the state’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative.

We believe this newly created misdemeanor population should continue to be funded by the state, and Community Corrections agencies should remain responsible for providing the assessments and subsequent evidence-based treatment service or referrals.

We also believe that our prosecutors must continue to have access to specialty courts like drug court and other accountability tools as we treat these drug possession crimes as Class A Misdemeanors. In many counties, first-time drug possession offenders can avoid a felony if they seek and complete treatment.

We must be clear. It is imperative that mandated assessments and treatment services accompany this change in drug crime policy so that individual risks and needs can been identified and addressed.

—

Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum issued the following statement praising Oregon law enforcement for their sponsorship of drug policy reform:

“I want to thank Oregon’s sheriffs and chiefs of police for their bold and important sponsorship of this drug policy reform proposal.

“Our work on the Attorney General’s Task Force on Law Enforcement Profiling has taught me that any discussion of the impact of law enforcement activities on our communities of color must also include a discussion of drug policies.

“In Oregon, as across the nation, drug sentencing laws, which often impose felony sentences for the possession of even a small amount of drugs, have fallen hardest on our diverse communities.

“This outdated approach often deprives those struggling with drug addiction of the housing, jobs and other opportunities necessary to overcome their addiction without providing the treatment that they desperately need.

“Drug abuse is an epidemic across our state, but severe punishment is not the way to break the cycle of addiction. I look forward to working with our partners in law enforcement, the legislature and the Governor to craft legislation in 2017 that will help correct this profound inequity.”