February 27, 2024 11:10 a.m.
State Representative Court Boice says the repeal of Measure 110 remains critical.
Boice issued a release regarding recent news from the U.S. Center for Disease Control showing that Oregon has seen the highest increase of overdose deaths, 41.5 percent, of all states in the last 12-month period.
Boice said he stands firm in his strong support for Oregon’s law enforcement and public safety professionals. Boice said, “Those heroes are still recovering from the last three years. We must always be aware of the tragedies they face every day”.
Boice said, “Oregon’s free for all acceptance of drug usage was the first state to decriminalize pot in America nearly 50 years ago, and then in 2020 the first in America to legalize hard drugs. We simply cannot continue the same mistakes. This remains and is so much about the future of our children and grandchildren”.
Boice said HB 4036 goes after the “pushers” as the penalties for possession of a controlled substance would create a Class A misdemeanor crime of using drugs in a public place. It would require a court to sentence a person convicted of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance that results in the death of another person to a term of incarceration from 58 months to 130 months. Boice said this would also help address “..some of the bad opportunist people that are flocking to our state”.
Boice said the legislation would also provide that a person charged with or convicted of a specific drug-related property misdemeanor be ordered, as a condition of probation, to be evaluated for drug dependence, and if rehabilitation is recommended that person be mandated to complete a treatment course.
The release said HB 4036 would also establish the Opioid Rapid Response Grant Program to assist cities and counties in creating and supporting opioid rapid response teams. It would direct the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission to provide grants and funding to communities and Tribes to support evidence-based services.
The bill would authorize the issuance of lottery bonds to be distributed to local governments for the purchase or renovation of physical infrastructure for substance abuse treatment and recovery programs.