House Republicans Rep. Kevin Mannix (R-Salem) Rep. Christine Goodwin (R-Canyonville) and Republican Leader Jeff Helfrich (R-Hood River) issued a statement critical of today’s meeting of the Joint Interim Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response on Measure 110. Mannix and Goodwin serve on the committee.

“What has become abundantly clear is that Measure 110 needs dramatic revisions. On the one hand, people need to be held accountable for their abuse of street drugs, which leads so many of them to commit crimes to feed their addictions. On the other hand, we need to dramatically reform our drug rehabilitation delivery system so that those who are addicted can promptly receive comprehensive treatment which will put them on the road to recovery,” said Mannix.

“Drug addiction thrives in an environment with no obstacles. M110 has decriminalized all dangerous drugs and in so doing has exacerbated a growing drug addiction epidemic in our state. Too many dangerous drugs remain legal, cheap and plentiful on our streets. We need a fresh start to build back bridges to recovery,” said Goodwin. “We need to return the tools to law enforcement to support recovery and build out evidence-based treatment facilities. The state investments in treatment programs need to be accountable for success in ending the suffering of drug addiction. We have chaos in our communities and the public is fed up!”

"Today, we heard more of the same from radical special interests who benefit from the status quo. We also heard heartbreaking stories from people living with the consequences of Measure 110's failure, and they are begging for change. The majority party only wants to talk; Republicans want action. Our caucus has put forward ideas to get addiction, homelessness, and crime under control, and we urge the majority to work with us to implement these solutions in the next session,” said Helfrich.

House Republicans have offered solutions to the failures of Measure 110 that include repealing failed and ineffective aspects of the law and instituting actions widely supported by the people of Oregon, including banning the public use of hard drugs, instituting penalties for those who possess deadly drugs like fentanyl, making treatment mandatory for those arrested on drug-related crimes in order to avoid jail, and directing resources to the county level so local entities can better address areas of acute need.

Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp (R-Bend) said, “There are two stories about Measure 110 on the ground. The one in our communities and filling up legislative inboxes is a demand for repealing and replacing this failed ballot measure. The version presented in committee today was primarily special interest activists defending the measure they funded with the goal of spreading this disaster to every state in the nation. At the end of the day, Oregon voters know that they were sold a bill of goods with Measure 110. They know that we need to start fresh, and we had better do it now.

“Senate Republicans have asked Democrats for a special session on Measure 110. We are disappointed in their slow response given the magnitude of the situation.

“In the upcoming session, we have got to recriminalize dealing, possessing, and publicly using deadly drugs, give law enforcement the tools they need to provide accountability that will require treatment for addiction, and allow counties to address needs at the local level. Anything short of that would be failure.”


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2023-12-04 14:24:15

Last Update: 2023-12-04 16:31:35