Plans to shift people suspected of drug possession away from courts and into treatment are beginning to unfold across Oregon after legislators terminated Measure 110, the voter-approved ballot measure from 2020 that decriminalized drug possession in certain amounts.

State lawmakers walked back the measure in the 2024 legislative session with the passage of House Bill 4002, which prompted 23 counties to be early adopters of what officials call “deflection” programs.

The premise may sound familiar. But state lawmakers and local officials are confident that deflection programs, which are still in development, will be different than the Measure 110 framework.

The goal is to alter the traditional course someone suspected of drug possession would take through the criminal justice system. Each county has until September to craft its own deflection program.

Deschutes and Crook counties are among the early adopters. Jefferson County District Attorney Steve Leriche said a program is still under consideration there. But he remains skeptical.

“Could a more convoluted system ever be produced?” Leriche wrote in an email. “This appears to be legislature’s attempt to say they fixed Measure 110 without really fixing Measure 110.”

Officials in Deschutes and Crook counties are more optimistic.

Deschutes County is set to receive more than $750,000 to create its program. Holly Harris, the county’s director of behavioral health, is leading the charge.

“What I like about this is that it’s a carrot to get them into treatment, but there’s so many opportunities to not have it ruin their life. And I think that is critical with this,” Harris said.

Much of the funding, which is expected to be delivered in two parts, will go toward hiring a coordinator who will oversee the program.

How the programs will work

Once Deschutes County’s deflection program is in place, and law enforcement encounter someone suspected of possessing illegal drugs, the officers will immediately notify one of the county’s two drug treatment partners. Those are Ideal Option and BestCare, and they will hire recovery mentors and substance-use disorder counselors who will be available 24/7 to respond to the scene.

Related coverage

With addiction bill, HB 4002, passed, now Oregon faces biggest challenge. The bill directs local agencies to build a new system to recriminalize drugs while trying to shepherd people addicted to drugs toward recovery. Though it will create a new misdemeanor in September, it emphasizes treatment over jail time.

Treatment staff will then give the person suspected of drug possession the option to enter treatment and avoid the criminal charges. The alternative is to run the gamut of the criminal justice system. Connection with a treatment provider can happen at multiple points, depending on whether someone is arrested or not. People could go so far as entering jail, receiving a citation in lieu of custody and then reaching a treatment provider.

The idea is to heavily incentivize treatment over a criminal conviction.

“I’m a believer that there are a lot of people who don’t need that incentive,” Harris said.

More often than not, Deschutes County’s behavioral health team and others are able to use non-punitive measures, build rapport and connect people to treatment, she said.

“However, there is a segment of the population that really we are not able to reach,” Harris said, “and it’s very difficult for providers to continue to try and try and just never be able to get there.”

As a result, providers and peers watch people die of overdoses, Harris said.

“We’ve lost more clients this year than I can think about in my whole time here at Deschutes County,” said Harris, who has been with the county for more than a decade.

Law enforcement-assisted diversion

Deschutes County’s program will, in part, be based on models from Marion County and Seattle. Those models are Law Enforcement-Assisted Diversion, or LEAD, programs.

Josh Lair, the community development director for Ideal Option, helped develop Marion County’s program after years of his own drug use and time spent in the criminal justice system. He’s been out of prison for more than two decades, and now mentors others trying to escape the cycle of addiction and crime as he did.

Lair’s last day in prison was July 2, 2012, he said. To date, he said law enforcement has been his biggest supporter.

Key to Marion County’s success were the people — in law enforcement and elsewhere — handpicked to craft and facilitate the program. That, paired with having transparent conversations about clients who are struggling to get treatment for their addiction without the threat of arrest or jail time, is what works, Lair said.

“We have the opportunity here in the state to do this — expand the LEAD program — in such a way that 49 other states are literally paying close attention,” Lair said.

Multnomah County attempted to implement its own Law Enforcement-Assisted Diversion program in 2017. Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz was commander of the Central Precinct of the Portland Police Bureau at the time, and he said concerns linger after its failed implementation.

That program, which is no longer active, according to Krantz, was not being used for what it was intended, so weapons crimes and crimes against people were qualifying for diversion, Krantz said. Plus, it was a significant time commitment for officers who should be out on the street, he said.

Krantz’s concerns with the Portland program absolutely carry over to Deschutes County, he said. But those worries are abated by the opportunity to craft a program tailored to Deschutes County’s needs.

“Although same in name, LEAD, it’s not the same program,” Krantz said.

Deschutes County’s will be LEAD-based, and ideally there will be as little interaction with law enforcement as possible.

In theory, because of the consequences embedded in the criminal justice system — jail time, probation, a criminal record — people will have an incentive to choose treatment instead.

“Choose is a dangerous word here because addiction isn’t necessarily a choice,” Krantz said.

Convictions for drug possession have declined since the passage of Measure 110, but the downward trend preceded the measure’s passage, according to county-by-county data.

Officials say it may take multiple attempts to deflect someone from the criminal justice system.

People shouldn’t be given only one chance, said Deschutes County Adult Jail Capt. Michael Shults.

“We just don’t give up on ‘em because the addiction is so strong,” he said.

If people don’t want treatment, jail might be the place for them temporarily, he said. Regardless of the deflection program’s existence, resources for things like community housing, mentorship and funding for effective programs are key to breaking addiction cycles, Shults said. And such things have never been more dire.

“I’ve never seen drugs in our community more than there is today,” Shults said, who has worked in Deschutes County for six years.

Deflection by design

State Rep. Jason Kropf, D-Bend, was on the Legislature’s joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response, which was responsible for crafting the framework and funding allocations for the 23 deflection programs.

“I do think there are lessons to learn from the rollout of Measure 110,” Kropf said.

Deflection is favorable to Measure 110 in his eyes for a few reasons. It requires a high level of collaboration across the criminal justice system and the behavioral health and treatment sectors. Each county gets to tailor its program to its own needs. In Deschutes County, the immediate response from treatment providers is the most encouraging piece.

“There is strength in having targeted pilot programs that are community led and responsive to the unique needs of different parts of our state,” Kropf said. “In many respects, our county is an ideal site for this community-based work.”

To the east, in Crook County, the program is being built from the ground up, and with a fraction of the funding of larger counties.

Its program will be slightly simpler than Deschutes County’s. Law enforcement will issue citations for people suspected of drug possession to go to court, but that citation will also include notice of possible eligibility for the Law Enforcement-Assisted Diversion program.

A program coordinator, who will work through the county’s parole and probation department, will advise people that they can avoid charges in court if they enter treatment, Crook County District Attorney Kari Hathorn said.

“The idea is that we’re funneling people out of the system but still having accountability for the program,” Hathorn said. “Measure 110 didn’t have the accountability.”

What often gets lost in the Legislature is how things can be implemented in smaller communities, Hathorn said. Just because the community is smaller doesn’t mean addiction issues are less pressing.

First responders in Crook County recently saw four overdoses in one day, she said.

“In a small community; it’s just devastating,” Hathorn said.

Which is why Hathorn said officials want to get tools like the deflection program in place to effectively address pervasive addiction and the crimes that arise from it.