Heavy criticism of Measure 110 voiced at Redmond panel discussion

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Measure 110, the voter-approved law that removes criminal penalties for possessing a small amount of drugs, is under serious scrutiny by the community, local and state leaders.

Monday evening at Highland Baptist Church in Redmond, community members met in a Redmond Patriots-hosted panel discussion, led by a panel of community leaders, including: Democratic state Representative Emerson Levy, Deschutes County District Attorney Steve Gunnels, former Bend mayor Jeff Eager and the Patrol Division commander of the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office, Captain William Bailey.

Measure 110 was approved by Oregon voters in the November 2020 election and reduced the penalties for possession of controlled substance offenses from a felony or misdemeanor to a new Class E violation, punishable with a $100 maximum fine.

Gunnels, who believes citizens are abusing the law, said: “The current law under Ballot Measure 110 allows a number of people who are addicted to drugs to continue in their addictive lifestyle, and it does not compel them to get into treatment. That's really the weakness of Ballot Measure 110. What we really need is a criminal sanction for drug possession unless the person actually goes into treatment.”

Vocal community members and political leaders are on a mission to fix the voter-approved drug decriminalization effort.

Levy said: “There's a committee. Representative Jason Kropf, who also represents Bend -- he is one of the leads on it, and he will be convening now, and the workgroup will be in February, so pretty soon we'll see some some action.”

However, supporters of Measure 110 said they are concerned the latest efforts will just result in money being diverted from treatment programs, and back toward the criminal justice system.