Oregon
Oregon’s drug decriminalization experiment appears dead
Members of the Oregon Senate talk on the Senate floor, March 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Salem, Ore. The Senate approved House Bill 4002, which passed yesterday in the House. Sen. Kate Lieber (center, standing) a Democrat from Portland, was one of the architects of the bill. Sen. Tim Knopp (seated in front of Lieber), a Republican from Bend and the Minority Leader, said the bipartisan bill was a response to the will of Oregonians.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Oregonâs pioneering drug decriminalization experiment is dead. At least if state lawmakers get their way.
The Oregon Senate on Friday passed House Bill 4002 on a 21-8 vote, with support from both Democrats and Republicans. It now heads to the desk of Gov. Tina Kotek, who has declined to say whether she supports the bill, but has signaled she is open to reintroducing penalties for drug possession.
HB 4002 would upend a voter-approved decriminalization policy that has been in place for three years. Under the bill anyone caught with small amounts of illicit drugs like meth or fentanyl could face up to six months in jail. The bill offers people options to pursue drug treatment rather than receiving criminal penalties, and allows people convicted of possession to have their record automatically expunged.
Despite those âoff ramps,â the bill has been harshly criticized by advocates for drug decriminalization, who accuse lawmakers of retreating to a war on drugs that had particularly negative outcomes for people of color.
Among its many provisions, HB 4002 also expands access to medications used to treat opioid withdrawal, creates new addiction services facilities, and makes it easier for prosecutors to seek steep penalties for drug dealers.
âWith this bill, we are doubling down on our commitment to make sure Oregonians have access to the treatment and care that they need,â said Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber, D-Portland, who co-wrote the bill. Lieber argued HB 4002 will âbe the start of real and transformative change for our justice system.â
Fridayâs outcome came as no surprise. In the days since Democrats announced an amended version of the bill that met many demands from Republicans and law enforcement officials, there has been little doubt HB 4002 would cruise to passage.
That was reflected Thursday, when the state House approved the bill with a 51-7 vote. It was even more clear when senators voted to approve a $211 million funding package based on HB 4002 prior to taking up the bill itself. That package passed 27-3 in the 30-member Senate.
Still, the recriminalization proposal inspired debate â and emotional retelling of lawmakersâ first person experience with addiction in their lives.
Many lawmakers agreed that Oregon needed to take a step to address a growing addiction crisis, and that HB 4002 struck a balance for doing that.
âIt didnât appear at the beginning of this process that there was going to be a willingness to do what was necessary to begin to turn the tide,â said Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, R-Bend. âIâm glad to stand on the Senate floor today and report: Oregonians, you won.â
Knopp like many other Republican lawmakers has tied surging overdose deaths in Oregon directly to Measure 110.
âMeasure 110 was not what Oregonians thought it was,â he said. âThey were told that their family, their friends, were going to get treatment for addiction. And what it turned into was a free-for-all of public drug use, increased fentanyl, opioid overdose deaths increasing exponentially, and Oregon becoming seen as a national dumpster fire.â
Thatâs a perspective that has been disputed by some research that suggests that increased prevalence of fentanyl, not decriminalization, is largely to blame for many of the stateâs woes.
Some supporters of HB 4002 were more measured in their support. Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, said heâs been urged by constituents not to support a return to the war on drugs. âSo my support for this measure today is rooted in trust that itâs not a return to the war on drugs,â said Golden, adding that heâd advocate for changes if the law is found to have harmful effects. âIâve given that vow to those in my district who are desperately afraid of whatâs about to happen.â
Other Democrats said HB 4002 went too far.
Sen. Lew Frederick, a Portland Democrat and one of four Black senators, said he could not vote on a bill that he believes will be harmful for people of color.
âThere are too many flaws for me to say yes,â said Frederick, after recounting the history of a drug war he said had been designed to target Black people. âI simply cannot have faith that there will be an equal compassionate treatment given the history of these official anti-drug efforts.â
Sens. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, and Floyd Prozanski, both argued that Oregon was rushing out a law that is not ready â a mistake they said mirrored Oregonâs flawed implementation of Measure 110.
âThe fundamental flaw with Ballot Measure 110 was that it decriminalized first and only slowly funded, designed and implemented the needed treatment programs,â said Dembrow, who said he worried about the impact of hundreds of additional criminal cases on an already strained courts system. âIn its current form, there are just too many question marks around its potential to be effective, and particularly to be implemented in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner, around the state.â
Prozanski said he would have supported the bill if it came with a âsunsetâ provision that automatically ended criminal penalties for drug use after a certain amount of time.
âItâs very unfortunate, from my perspective, that we didnât stay the course and address the open use of controlled substances on a short-term basis,â he said.
The final decision about the future of Oregon drug policy may fall to Kotek. The Democratic governor often refuses to indicate whether or not sheâll sign a given bill ahead of time, saying she needs to read the fine print before making a choice.
Kotek, however, has signaled she could support HB 4002. She said in January that she is open to signing a bill that would roll back decriminalization.
âI want to see a proposal that answers a set of questions,â Kotek said at the time. âOne piece will be criminalization, but if we just look at criminalization in isolation, I think itâs missing the point. So my question is going to be ⦠what else are you going to do different to make sure we have better outcomes?â
Kotek has more factors to weigh than just her own analysis of the bill. A coalition headed by a former head of the state corrections department has proposed a ballot measure that would more drastically roll back drug law.
That group signaled Thursday that it would stand down if Kotek signs HB 4002.
Under state law, when the Legislature is in session Kotek has five business days to decide whether to veto a bill, sign it, or let it pass into law without a signature. If the Legislature adjourns before that five days has elapsed, the governor must make her decision within 30 business days following adjournment.
Oregon
Timeline video traces SB 1008’s impact on Oregon juvenile justice, viewers can watch now
Oregon’s juvenile justice system has been reshaped in recent years by a sweeping reform law that changed how the state handles minors accused of serious crimes.
Senate Bill 1008, which took effect in 2020, ended automatic transfers of juveniles into adult court and eliminated life without parole sentences for juveniles. The law also created “second-look” hearings and established parole eligibility after 15 years for certain offenders who committed crimes before turning 18.
To help explain the law and its impact, KVAL’s Frannie Pedersen put together a timeline video tracing the history of Senate Bill 1008, from the passage of Measure 11 in 1994 to the reforms that later reshaped Oregon’s juvenile justice system.
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The video breaks down how the law changed, why lawmakers pushed for reform, and how SB 1008 continues to influence Oregon’s justice system today. Viewers can watch the full video for a detailed timeline and explanation of the changes.
Oregon
New Jersey man sentenced in Oregon federal court for conspiring to distribute fentanyl
PORTLAND, Ore. — A New Jersey man was sentenced to federal prison last Friday for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.
Mark T. Eager, 34, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“This defendant showed a blatant disregard for human life by trafficking fentanyl across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Bradford. “My office will continue to pursue those who profit from poisoning our communities, and we will use every available resource and partnership to combat fentanyl trafficking and keep Oregonians safe.”
“This investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from across the nation,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “Homeland Security Investigations special agents from Portland, Newark, and Houston contributed to the case, along with the Portland Police Bureau and HIDTA HIT officers, who were instrumental in identifying Eager. His 11-year sentence sends a clear message: no matter where you are in the country or the world, if you attempt to sell narcotics online to Americans, we will find you.”
“Fentanyl trafficking poses a grave threat to communities across the United States, and Homeland Security Investigations is committed to working with our partners to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks responsible,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “This case demonstrates the power of interagency collaboration under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, leveraging resources from across the country to hold traffickers accountable and protect the American people. We will continue to pursue those who endanger lives through the distribution of dangerous synthetic opioids, and we remain steadfast in our mission to safeguard our communities from the violence and instability caused by transnational criminal organizations.”
“By following this offender’s digital trail, Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners nationwide executed federal search warrants, dismantled an active dark web fentanyl packaging operation and recovered deadly amounts of fentanyl, thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, and a trove of electronic devices and packaging materials,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “This case is a powerful example of how coordinated, data-driven investigations can disrupt dangerous networks and help protect our communities from lethal synthetic opioids.”
According to court documents, from November 2023 through June 2024, Eager and his co-conspirator sold fentanyl on the Dark Net and Telegram. Eager operated as the vendor WRSEH10 and marketed the fentanyl as “China White Synthetic Heroin.”
In June 2024, HSI agents executed search warrants on two residences associated with Eager in Kearny, New Jersey, and seized over 360 grams of powdered fentanyl, counterfeit M30 pills, drug ledgers, cellular phones, two computers, and drug packaging consistent with three deliveries that were sent to Oregon.
On September 4, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Eager with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl.
On February 4, 2026, Eager pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
HSI Portland and HSI Houston investigated this case with assistance from HSI Newark, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Task Force (HIT). Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey assisted the U.S. Attorney’s in Oregon in obtaining the search warrants that were executed in Kearny.
Oregon
4 Takeaways From Oregon State Baseball’s Run At The Eugene Regional
Oregon State’s season came to an end in Eugene on Sunday evening, after a rocky 7th inning doomed them against the 11th-ranked Oregon Ducks. The Beavers put up a valiant effort to try and fight their way back from the loser’s bracket, but they couldn’t accomplish this incredible feat that they pulled off in 2025.
A Bad Start Changed Everything
Winning the first game of a regional is almost a must if you want to advance, and this is where things started to go south.
After a nearly two-week layoff (since they didn’t have a conference tournament), OSU’s bats were rusty against a very solid left-hander in WSU’s Nick Lewis. Though the Beavers were able to put up a run early on, Lewis rolled with the punches and ended up throwing a complete game against the country’s seventh-ranked team. Though their bats came to life the next day, the uphill climb proved to be too much.
Pitching Wasn’t the Issue
Oregon State came into this tournament with the nation’s best ERA, and their starting rotation was exactly as advertised.
After a good outing from Kleinschmit on Friday afternoon, Eric Segura threw a 6.2 inning gem in an elimination game against Yale. True freshman Trey Morris threw 117 pitches in the rout of WSU early Saturday, and Wyatt Queen was excellent against the Ducks off of short rest later that evening.
The Power Just Wasn’t There
In today’s era of baseball where starting pitchers are so talented, it’s crucial to have guys that can get you runs with just one swing of the bat, especially when the man on the hill is striking a lot of people out.
Throughout the entirety of this season, the Beavers have not been a club that hits for much power, and this makes things difficult in the postseason. In four games across the Eugene regional, Oregon State didn’t hit a single ball out of the park. In 2026 they only hit a total of 55 homers, a stark contrast from the 107 of 2025’s Omaha year.
They Ran into a Good Team With a Deep Pitching Staff
In Mark Wasikowski’s tenure with the Ducks, his team’s pitching has often been a crutch that holds them back from big postseason runs. This certainly doesn’t seem to be the case this year.
Throughout the regional that they hosted, Oregon starters looked nearly untouchable. Will Sanford struck out 14 batters and didn’t allow a run against Washington State. Yesterday against the Beavers, left-hander Miles Gosztola was phenomenal, bouncing back after allowing a run in the second inning. The Ducks also have great relievers in guys like Tanner Bradley and Devin Bell. With a lot of reliable arms to go to, it would’ve been difficult to beat Oregon twice.
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