West
Blue state Republicans move to strike this ‘catastrophic’ drug law they say is wreaking havoc on communities
Oregon House Republicans are sharing their plan to end the state’s voter-approved drug decriminalization experiment at the same time Democratic lawmakers are weighing a more modest re-criminalization proposal.
“The citizens of Oregon understand the failures of Measure 110,” Rep. Rick Lewis, one of the chief sponsors of the GOP bill, said in a statement. “We see the results on the streets, in the unacceptable overdose death rate and in the catastrophic consequences to our communities, to public safety and to livability. Change is needed, and we can’t afford to take small steps that fail to adequately address the problem.”
A man smokes on the sidewalk in Portland, Oregon, on Jan. 10, 2024. Both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature have signaled plans to roll back the drug decriminalization law passed by voters three years ago. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)
‘ENORMOUS MISTAKE’: BUSINESS LEADERS, RESIDENTS FED UP WITH BLUE STATE DRUG LAWS ISSUE 2024 ULTIMATUM
About 58% of Oregon voters passed Measure 110 in 2020, decriminalizing small amounts of all drugs and redirecting much of the state’s marijuana tax revenue to fund grants for addiction services.
Since then, addiction and overdose deaths have skyrocketed in Oregon and nationwide as fentanyl swept across the country. Now, three years into the first-of-its-kind law, numerous polls show Oregonians favor re-criminalizing hard drugs and making treatment required, not voluntary, as a jail alternative.
The Republican bill would make possession of drugs like fentanyl, heroin and meth a Class A misdemeanor and would require treatment to avoid jail. If convicted, drug users could face up to a year in jail, a $6,250 fine, or both.
“Enabling people to live on the streets and poison themselves is not compassionate,” Rep. Tracy Cramer said in a statement.
The bill would also ban public drug use and set harsher prison sentences for drug dealers, especially if they sell drugs that result in a person’s death.
PORTLAND WOMAN KNOCKED OUT BY ATTACKER BLAMES CITY FOR SLOW POLICE RESPONSE: ‘WE DID THIS TO OURSELVES’
Democrats, who control both chambers of the state legislature, have also signaled a desire to roll back parts of Measure 110 during their upcoming 35-day legislative session. One possibility is making possession a Class C misdemeanor, the lowest crime classification.
But reform advocates staunchly oppose re-criminalizing drugs.
“Any action by the Oregon legislature that criminalizes addiction would be cruel, harmful, and a failure of leadership,” read a statement from the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, Health Justice Recovery Alliance and other groups supporting Measure 110.
“We cannot regress back to the failed war on drug tactics that harm Black, brown, and poor people and make drug addiction, overdose deaths, and homelessness more difficult and expensive to solve,” the statement continued.
WATCH: PORTLAND POLICE RECKON WITH “EXPLOSION” OF OPEN-AIR DRUG USE:
WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE
In Portland, where the effects of Oregon’s drug laws are most stark, city officials have been urging the state to take action.
“We need to give tools to our first responders so they can take action,” City Commissioner Dan Ryan told Fox News on Thursday. “If someone is smoking fentanyl in public and it’s causing harm to those who are trying to access the sidewalk, then the police need to be able to respond to that … It’s just common sense.”
Portland’s City Council unanimously passed an ordinance banning public drug use in September. But city officials said the law couldn’t go into effect until state lawmakers pass a new law allowing them to enforce it.
Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber told the Capital Chronicle that Democrats are working with Republicans to “put together a proposal that connects people to addiction treatment, gets drugs off our streets, and keeps our communities safe.”
“We know we cannot go back to the failed war on drugs, and we cannot continue to allow Oregonians to die of drug overdoses on our streets,” Lieber said in a statement to the outlet. “A policy has not been finalized, but once we do have a proposal to put forward, we look forward to thoroughly vetting the ideas through a public process.”
Needles, foil and other drug paraphernalia filled a woman’s tent in downtown Portland in July 2023. Lawmakers in the state are considering re-criminalizing drug possession and making treatment mandatory as an alternative to jail. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)
The short session begins Feb. 5.
A coalition of political and business leaders in Oregon have also lobbied the legislature to reform Measure 110 and promises to send a ballot measure to the voters if lawmakers don’t take action next month.
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San Francisco, CA
VIDEO: Car crashes into SF Castro restaurant, driver flees scene
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Dramatic video shows a car smashing into dining parklets and a restaurant in San Francisco. The crash happened happeend before 2 a.m. on Sunday, and no one was injured.
As of Sunday night, police are still trying to locate and identify the driver who ran away. In the video, after airbags were deployed from the crash, the driver was seen leaving the car behind.
The car crashed into Castro Indian Restaurant and bar owner Ajay Khadka says he got an alert and arrived within 15 minutes. After reviewing his security video, he says he saw people standing in the area just moments before the crash.
“People were just walking around like that second, not even a minute; no one was there. So thank god nobody got hurt; otherwise it would be devastating,” Khadka said.
Police responded to investigate but were unable to find the driver. The victimized restaurant has been part of the Castro for nearly two decades and is now boarded up.
Manager Narmela Khordians says she got a call from the landlord about an hour after closing and rushed back to the restaurant.
“I’m hurt; it was an emotional feeling last night,” Khordians said. “I hope the police will arrest him. He needs to pay the price for it because this is not fair for small businesses for people. I’m glad we were closed because it could have been worse.”
Despite damage to the front of the restaurant and its parklet, Cafe Mystique reopened Sunday.
“Normally, we are very busy for Sunday brunch, so it affected our business as you see,” Khordians said. “Even though we tried to open, we had some customers who wanted to eat. Still, it’s not what we usually do. So it did affect our business, definitely.”
The restaurant is facing repairs that may cost as much as $25,000, according to Khadka. As of now, no arrests have been made.
KRON4 followed up with police asking if the car was stolen but did not hear back in time for this report.
Denver, CO
Two Colorado smoke shops shut down for selling restricted products to minors
A smoke shop in Denver and another in Fort Collins were both ordered to cease operations this month by city and state regulators.
The Vibe Smoke Shop at 7530 East Colfax Avenue was ordered Tuesday by the City and County of Denver’s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection to promptly close its doors and post a notice of summary suspension on the premises until further notice.
A summary suspension refers to the city immediately suspending the business’s license to operate, even if further proceedings are scheduled to determine its future.
“This is one of the worst cases of alleged illegal products sales by a business the city has ever uncovered in random inspections of convenience stores in Denver history,” stated Eric Escudero, the DLCP’s Director of Communications, in a press release. “In most licensing discipline cases, the city issues a show cause order where a business can continue to operate while the licensing discipline case plays out. A summary suspension is the most severe form of licensing discipline the city can take and is reserved for only the most serious cases of unlawful activities.”
In Denver, as in the state of Colorado, it is illegal to purchase tobacco, flavored tobacco, alcohol, recreational marijuana, kratom, or psylocibin products under the age of 21. DLCP’s Escudero stated that Vibe Smoke Shop allegedly violated city and state laws by, at different times, selling all of those items to minors.
Alleged violations by Vibe Smoke Shop date back to June 2025, according to the summary suspension order provided by DLCP. It was then that the outlet reportedly sold cigarettes and other tobacco/nicotine products to a 19-year-old person. That 19-year-old was working as part of an undercover operation to catch such activity.
Vibe Smoke Shop’s ownership was cited for the infraction, according to the order. But the monetary penalty for the citation has not been paid and is in collections, per DLCP.
Later that year, a Denver Police Department school resource officer was reportedly told by a student that other underage students were buying marijuana products from the same smoke shop and were re-selling them on school grounds throughout the day, “especially during lunch hours,” as stated in the order.
Denver PD and the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment joined DLCP for further undercover operations and enforcements. Meanwhile, a parent of an underage Vibe customer also complained to authorities that his 17-year-old son and his son’s friend were able to purchase kratom products with a fake ID and, at times, without an ID at all. That parent said both boys required addiction treatment services as a result of their kratom use.
In March of this year, another complaint was received about the business hosting after-hours parties for minors, as alleged in the DLCP order. When phoned by a DLCP inspector, Vibe’s ownership reportedly refused inspection of the business and hung up, per the order. An unannounced inspection was nevertheless conducted less than a week later, and a back room in the business was allegedly found to have cases of beer and alcoholic lemonade, bottles of beer and liquor in the refrigerator, and more than a dozen hookahs. Vibe ownership did not have a liquor license, per DLCP.
That inspection, and later ones, uncovered numerous non-compliant or improperly labeled marijuana, kratom and mushroom product, according to the DLCP order. A subsequent Notice of Violation from the health department determined some of those products “constituted an imminent health hazard” and ordered them destroyed.
The DLCP scheduled a hearing on June 26 in the case. Then, Vibe Smoke Shop ownership will have the chance to explain why its business license should not further suspended or revoked entirely, as explained by DLCP’s order.
According to the Colorado Secretary of State’s database, Vibe Smoke Shop LLC is owned by an Aurora resident, Desalegn Berhane Weldegebriel. CBS Colorado left a voicemail message at the only publicly listed phone number for Weldegebriel requesting comment.
In Fort Collins, the Smokin’ Genie was ordered May 20 to close at the end of the month. An investigation by Fort Collins Police Services and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office found that the business did not properly label its kratom products and allegedly sold kratom to a person younger than 21 years of age.
Smokin’ Genie’s owner, Ambreen Vazir of Florida, reached a settlement with the state. The business must cease operations on May 31 and destroy any remaining inventory. Vazir is also banned from conducting “any business in Colorado related to the advertising, marketing, cultivation, processing, manufacturing, handling, labeling, packaging, distribution, and/or sale of Restricted Products,” as stated in the settlement agreement. If Vazir chooses to re-open such a Colorado business after May 31, 2031, he must pay the attorney general’s office $20,000.
Furthermore, if Vazir’s future business violates state law regarding the import, manufacture, storage, assembly, handling, distribution, or sale of restricted products, the agreement states Vazir will be penalized a total of $200,000.
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office stated in a press release that its settlement with Vazir is the first action it has taken under recently passed legislation which regulates the sale of kratom products in Colorado.
CBS Colorado was unable to reach Vazir for comment.
Seattle, WA
WEST SEATTLE SCHOOLS: Graduation season begins Monday
(WSB file photo. No outdoor cap tosses this year!)
Tomorrow (Monday, June 1) brings not only a new month but also the first graduation ceremony of the season for West Seattle’s three biggest high schools. And all are graduating at new venues this year. Summit Atlas, which after nine years remains West Seattle’s only charter school, will graduate 55 seniors in a ceremony at Highline Performing Arts Center in Burien at 6 pm Monday. West Seattle’s two major public high schools, Chief Sealth International HS and West Seattle HS, both have graduation ceremonies on Wednesday, June 17, at McCaw Hall (hosting graduations while Memorial Stadium is being rebuilt) – CSIHS at 5 pm, WSHS at 8 pm. The Seattle Public Schools webpage for graduation info also lists where and when ceremonies are planned for its alternative programs, some of which hold classes in West Seattle.
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