Let drug users deflect treatment? Residents discuss MultCo. leaders' controversial program.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – For several weeks, Multnomah County leaders have met behind closed doors to discuss a program that could allow people caught using drugs to avoid arrest and possibly walk away without mandated treatment.

Thursday offered the public a chance to weigh in on the deflection program – and whether it’s the best way to introduce House Bill 4002 when it goes into effect in September.

The bill, signed by Gov. Kotek in April 2024, will effectively reverse the voter-approved Measure 110 by reintroducing criminal penalties for those who possess drugs in the state.

But recent meetings led by Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson with District Attorney Mike Schmidt, the Portland police chief and others have now garnered criticism from the public.

During the meeting, both commissioners and community members expressed concerns that the county has yet to define the deflection process while key decisions continue to happen without public input.

"There must be a binary choice, jail or mandatory treatment,” Buckman resident Rick Johnson said.

Charles Johnson of Multnomah County added, “This $25 million might be the most expensive revolving door in American history."

In fact, Commissioner Meieran had previously claimed that her fellow commissioners “have not been involved in the conversation at all.”

"It's going to include a screening, it's going to include access to services, and it's gonna include some kind of engagement accountability that we're still working on,” Chair Vega Pederson said. “And so we're going to continue that conversation today and in the days and weeks to come."

It remains unclear just how many people the site will serve and who is eligible for deflection. However, the Chair did clarify the he details would be finalized before Sept. 1.

"The first order of business should have been saying what deflection is going to be, who we're going to serve, what the voluntariness is now – and that's actually not rocket science,” Commissioner Meieran said.

Presenters speaking on behalf of the leadership team confirmed that when the new site opens on Sept. 1, it will not offer sobering services or take in anyone who is heavily intoxicated until the second quarter of 2025.

“So who is this center for? Because it doesn't seem like it's screening out pretty much every one that we think is going to choose deflection,” Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards said.