MULTNOMAH COUNTY, Ore. — When the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 4002, which will recriminalize drugs starting in September, lawmakers told counties to get ready for the change by creating deflection programs, with the goal of using the threat of criminal charges to push people into treatment and keep them out of the legal system.
Washington and Clackamas counties are doing just that, but Multnomah County's plan seems to be a deflection program with no consequences, according to a report from The Oregonian.
Multnomah County's diversion program, as currently envisioned, will not require people caught with drugs to enroll in substance abuse treatment, and there is no limit to how often a person can opt for so-called deflection over arrest. The Oregonian also reported that people will only have to check in at the drop-off center where they are taken to satisfy the requirements of deflection.
KGW reported earlier this week that the man who just won the election for district attorney in Multnomah County, Nathan Vasquez, says he's being actively kept out of the discussion by his boss, the current DA who lost the election, Mike Schmidt.
RELATED: DA-elect Nathan Vasquez critical of Multnomah County's 'revolving door' plan for drug deflection
"I certainly asked that permission (to get involved) from my office," Vasquez told "The Story" on Wednesday. "I have been trying to talk to various folks about this program. I want to be involved."
He continued, saying that he and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Peterson "have had some good conversations and I do believe that we will have a very collaborative relationship and I really want to work with her office, you know — but certainly from Mike Schmidt, there has been zero cooperation in that front."
Lack of police involvement
Another group feeling left out of the loop: the police.
Aaron Schmautz, president of the Portland Police Association, said that he looks forward to being included in policy talks about the deflection program, and that he's concerned the current plan does not do what state lawmakers wanted.
"We have a lot of work to do. I think... you're hearing from other counties, a system that I think more kind of matches the legislative intent, which is that both law enforcement has some tools to abate some of the crises we're seeing on our street, but also that when people are either taken into custody or they interact with the system, that there is a pathway that's laid out for them," Schmautz said.
"Speaking to a lot of our service providers, I think they feel the same way — that the concern is that this just turns into an odd custodial version of Measure 110 without any real carrot or stick," he continued. "My biggest concern is any kind of custodial intervention. We've got to have a real clear plan laid out as to why we're doing it because there's clear risk when you're interacting with people who, especially with fentanyl, you know, that's something sideways happens."
In other words, is it worth it for a police officer take the risk of putting someone on fentanyl in the back of their car with the small but real risk they could go into overdose as they're being driven to the drop-off center? Because then, it's the officer's problem, and the person in the backseat needs only check in to the drop off site and then walk away to be done with deflection.
"I think we just view the pathway very different(ly)," Schmautz said. "There are people within the treatment world who view the justice system as very punitive and kind of not the right partner.
"But I would just encourage everyone to understand we all have a role to play, and we've got to figure out about how these handoffs are gonna function, because at the end of the day, we all want, again, the same thing, which is people getting the treatment when they need it, our streets getting cleaned up, people not having to deal with a lot of these — just daily issues that are manifesting themselves and people not dying at the rate they are from fentanyl, given the poison that it is," he concluded.
There's also more reaction and pressure now from the folks that threatened to repeal Measure 110 with a statewide initiative. On Thursday, they sent an email to Vega Pederson and Schmidt, writing that they have grave concerns about the policy direction Multnomah County is choosing, arguing it lacks the careful drug treatment offramp envisioned under the new law.
Vega Pederson and Schmidt have not responded to KGW's requests for an interview about the policy, but drug possession becomes a crime again in Oregon on Sept. 1 — and that's when the deflection program has to be ready.