Portland DA to Prosecute Drug Possession After 90 Days of Failed Treatment
Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez has announced that Portland will begin prosecuting people arrested for drug possession if they refuse to 'meaningfully engage' in treatment within 90 days, a sharp turn from the deflection‑only approach adopted after Oregon’s drug decriminalization measure. Under the new policy, defendants will still be offered treatment and services, but failure to participate over three months will trigger criminal charges and move cases into court. Vasquez’s office says a year of relying on voluntary deflection showed the program was 'failing,' and that surrounding counties had already coupled treatment offers with accountability. General counsel Adam Gibbs emphasized that the DA is changing the one lever fully under his control—who gets charged—while coordinating with the county health department and commissioners to tighten program outcomes. Recovery advocates quoted in the piece back the shift as adding needed consequences to get more people into care, while critics online are already framing it as a retreat from decriminalization reforms that were supposed to prioritize public health over punishment.
đź“Ś Key Facts
- Multnomah County DA Nathan Vasquez will now prosecute drug‑possession arrestees who do not 'meaningfully engage' in treatment within 90 days.
- The move ends Portland’s deflection‑only approach that followed Oregon’s decriminalization of hard drugs, which Vasquez says failed over a one‑year trial period.
- The DA’s office is coordinating with the county health department and commissioners to redefine program outcomes and limit prosecution to cases where people persistently refuse treatment.
đź“Š Relevant Data
Following the implementation of Oregon's Measure 110, which decriminalized drug possession, Black-White rate differences in drug possession arrests fell by 79.5%.
The Impact of Drug Possession Decriminalization on Arrests — RAND Corporation
In the United States, overdose deaths have recently fallen among White people but continue to rise among people of color, including Black and Indigenous Americans.
Overdose deaths are rising among Black and Indigenous Americans — Oregon Capital Chronicle
In 2023, national opioid overdose death rates were highest among American Indian/Alaska Native people at 49.8 per 100,000 and Black people at 37.9 per 100,000, compared to lower rates for White people who saw a 14% decline in the second half of 2023.
Opioid Deaths Fell in Mid-2023, But Progress Is Uneven and Future Trends are Uncertain — KFF
Black patients presenting to the emergency department with opioid overdose are less likely to receive outpatient treatment referrals compared to other groups.
Disparities in Treatment and Referral After an Opioid Overdose Among Medicaid Beneficiaries in North Carolina — JAMA Network Open
đź“° Source Timeline (1)
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