Multnomah County, Portland leaders outline drug deflection plan
“We must offer people suffering from addiction alternatives to incarceration or we will be right back where we started,” Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said at a press conference. “When the drug possession laws change on Sept. 1, [2024], it is so important for us to be ready.”
In Multnomah County, only people possessing a small amount of drugs will be eligible for deflection. They cannot have committed other crimes in the previous 30 days, nor failed deflection during that time. People on probation or parole are eligible. To successfully complete deflection, people will have to receive a screening followed by a referral to whatever services the person needs, such as drug treatment. The person then has to engage with services within 30 days of the initial deflection. “We believe that that 30-day window gives them ample opportunity to try and take some responsibility for themselves,” Portland Police Chief Bob Day said. People who fail any of those steps will not be eligible for deflection for the next 30 days. Instead, they’d be criminally charged for drug possession. “So there are some accountability standards put in there,” Day said.
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Multnomah County, Portland leaders outline drug deflection plan
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