Democratic lawmakers in Oregon on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping new bill that would undo a key part of the state’s first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law, a recognition that public opinion has soured on the measure amid rampant public drug use during the fentanyl crisis.
The bill would recriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs as a low-level misdemeanor, enabling police to confiscate them and crack down on their use on sidewalks and in parks, its authors said. It also aims to make it easier to prosecute dealers, to access addiction treatment medication, and to obtain and keep housing without facing discrimination for using that medication.
I’m poor and I’m an (ex)addict. If a fine like that came with penalties, I wouldn’t do drugs in public… Because I wouldn’t want to pay the fine. Poor people aren’t stupid and most of us aren’t in the habit of throwing away money…
A penalty that has a significant impact on the poor while being the cost of having fun for the rich is just saying the behavior is only acceptable if you can afford it.
Believe me, I understand. It should be tied to wealth… Which will never happen. $100 is much better than thousands and/or prison time. Drugs being decriminalized, and with such a low penalty, would hopefully encourage cops to be lenient in writing those tickets. Ideally, tickets would only be issued when people are literally shooting/lighting up in public. Most people know better than to do that.