Pulling up the welcome mat

Possession of hard street drugs is a misdemeanor again in Oregon, effective this past Sunday. Measure 110, the state's failed decriminalization experiment, is over. The Portland police have jumped right in, busting people who are using in public. But not many people, at least not so far.

Media accounts are pretty sketchy, but apparently a handful of users have been arrested, and another handful have been offered "deflection," where they meet with counselors from a private contractor and at least act like they're interested in getting treatment for their substance abuse. For now, the counselors show up in a mobile unit; supposedly by the end of next month, they'll be in a building where police will drop the druggies off. 

It's a much different scene from even last week. People caught in possession are now handcuffed, and their drugs are confiscated. If the suspect is on probation, has a warrant, is committing another crime, or can't understand basic instructions – or if the counselor doesn't show up within 30 minutes of a police call – it's off to jail, with no "deflection" option.

The "advocates" for drug users are howling, of course. They'll be quick to tell you that this new system fails to solve the problems of those who are arrested. But even if you feel it's society's job to solve those problems, it's important to note that the arrests actually do accomplish something important for the public as a whole.

Granted, there won't be any noticeable decrease in drug use from a few busts. There is still nowhere in Portland for anyone who's intoxicated and living on the street to go (or be dragged) to get sober in the short term. Jail is the only place that happens. And the new regime probably isn't going to result in more than token, brief incarceration. The county D.A., Mikey Schmidt, is likely going to let all those arrested off the hook on their misdemenanor charges, and even if his successor takes a harder line, there is nowhere near enough jail space for everyone who deserves it.

More importantly, it's impossible to have successful "deflection" when there's nowhere to "deflect" people to. Apparently the existing treatment programs still have little or no vacancy. (And they don't have spectacular long-term success rates in any event, especially up against meth and fentanyl.)

So what's the point? Well, what the new system does do is tell the hard drug addicts of America that Portland is now just like everywhere else again. If the cops catch you using and they decide to go after you, you'll be handcuffed, and your stash will be taken away. If you've got warrants, are on probation, or are up to no good, they won't let you go. Even if this is your first brush with the law and all you're doing is using, you'll have to sweet-talk some social workers for a while. And now that you're on the police radar screen, your number of free passes will likely be limited.

That may not be compassionate, but it's the only sane policy if you don't want half the drug users in the country to flock to your town. Unless you're ready to spend the billions on a new system that exists nowhere in the world, you have to get the criminal justice system involved. Yes, essentially, you have to harass the users to a certain degree. Life is hard sometimes.