A bill that would reduce drug felonies to misdemeanors for first-time possessions of small amounts of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and other hard drugs passed through the Oregon state legislature on Thursday and is likely to be signed into law by Governor Kate Brown.
House Bill 2355 which reduces convictions for first-time possessions of such illicit drugs passed through the state’s house of representatives by 36-23 on July 4. The state senate voted in favor of it by 20-9.
The bill’s proponents argued that it was the most effective way of addressing growing drug abuse in the state.
Rep. Mitch Greenlick (D.) told the Washington Free Beacon, “We’ve got to treat people, not put them in prison. It would be like putting them in the state penitentiary for having diabetes…This is a chronic brain disorder and it needs to be treated this way.”