Street Roots • July 14-20, 2017
E d ito r ia l
Page 3
Defelonization, profiling bill a milestone for Oregon
n what was a contentious and often
disappointing 2017 state legislative session,
one measure stands out as a monumental
benchmark.
HB 2355, signed into law July 11 by Gov.
Kate Brown, reduces the punishment for
possessing small quantities of
various drugs, including
cocaine and heroin, from a
felony to a misdemeanor.
It also expands access to
drug treatment for people who need health care
more than social retribution.
Up to now, possessing even small amounts of
some drugs could land you a felony charge that
came with the mandate of years, even decades,
in prison, if convicted. According to the Oregon
Criminal Justice Commission, about 1,500
Oregonians every year have no felony conviction
on their record until they are charged for
possessing drugs. And one in three of those
convictions had no prior criminal record. The
misguided and the
addicted are swept up in
the same iron fist as
violent offenders.
These changes to the
law are not a move to say
it’s O K to use hard drugs.
That cause-and-effect
argument is a red
herring. Drug use and
abuse are complex issues
woven into physical and
mental health care,
economic opportunity
and so much more. This
is about crime and
punishment, which in the
absence of real change
has had tragic
consequences for people
trying to grapple with
addiction and navigate
the myriad life issues
associated with drugs.
Also, the misdemeanor classification only
applies to user levels of drugs, and only to
people who do not have a prior felony
conviction, and upon the third arrest, just like
with driving under the influence of intoxicants,
the penalty reverts to a felony. And felony
charges still apply in cases of manufacturing and
distributing drugs.
HB 2355 also sets in place a structure to
collect demographic data during routine
pedestrian and traffic stops in an effort to end
profiling.' It’s shocking to realize that in the 21st
century, when we all recognize the gross
injustice of racial profiling, we have yet to get
down to brass tacks on the matter. This bill
pushes the state forward to study police-
initiated stops and address patterns of implicit
bias, along with training, standards and a
process for alerting departments to problems.
The devil remains in the details, and no doubt
many adjustments and fine tuning will come, but
progressive legislation is shaped over time by
best practices, providing the leadership doesn’t
waffle on the ultimate goal.
It’s no surprise that this measure received
the support of the A CLU of Oregon, Basic
Rights Oregon, and a host of social justice
organizations, but it was also endorsed by the
Oregon Association of Community Corrections
I
Directors, along with the state chiefs of police
and sheriff associations. These are the people
who know first-hand that the punishment
doesn’t fit the crime in many cases, explicitly
noting the unintended consequences, such as
barriers to housing, employment and education,
and the disproportionate impact on
communities of color.
Pairing defelonization with efforts to curtail
racial profiling is absolutely appropriate: the two
are directly linked: A study by the Oregon
Criminal Justice Commission - the state agency
responsible for collecting and compiling
statewide crime data - found that in 2015,
African-Americans in Oregon were convicted of
felony drug possession at more than double the
rate of whites.
The Coalition for Communities of Color - an
alliance of culturally-specific, community based
organizations working to advance racial justice -
described the domino effect best in their
testimony supporting
the bill: “Because of
existing stereotypes
and systemic
prejudices, people
in our communities
are often targeted
by police officers -
based on their race,
ethnicity or cultural
background. This
unfair practice
perpetuates
I W
mistrust of police
\
s
an<^ makes our
communities less
safe.”
About two years
ago, Street Roots
interviewed Inge
Fryklund about the
isy Xssin f
war on drugs.
Fryklund, who lives
in Bend, is a former
prosecutor and now leading proponent for
decriminalizing drugs, and a board member for
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, or LEAP,
which advocates for a system of legalization and
regulation around drugs.
This week Fryklund applauded the Oregon
Legislature’s vote, looking at the larger picture,
and the road ahead.
“Our legislature’s decision to decriminalize
small amounts of drugs and expand access to
treatment is an important step forward in
ending the disastrous drug war,” Fryklund said
in a statement about the bill’s passage. “The
harm reduction approach can help address the
underlying problems that lead to addiction and
keep people who pose little public safety threat
out of the justice system.”
With the defelonization, perhaps now we can
provide more than lip service to the health care
issues - and solutions - to drug use and
addiction. Regardless of how far backward the
federal policies may go in the interim, Oregon
needs to set the bar for giving people tangible
opportunities to overcome addiction and
succeed. It’s where a more promising future
lies, not in the misguided human carnage of this
disastrous drug war.
israei@streetroots.org
Executive Editor Joanne Zuhl
joanne@streetroots.org
Vendor P ro g ra m D ire c to r Cole Merkel
coie@streetroots.org
Editorial Assistant Monica Kwasnik
Board of Directors
Chairman Brad Taylor
Vice-Chairman Rachel Langford
Treasurer Heather Stadick
Secretary Dan Jones
Directors Rich Rodgers, Michael Anderson,
Sandra Hahn, John Brown, Nels Johnson and
Alison Hallett
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