Portland Mayor Backtracks on Proposed Bill to Ban Public Drug Use

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler speaks to the media at City Hall in Portland, Oregon, in this file photo taken on Aug. 30, 2020. Nathan Howard/Getty Images

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has backtracked on his proposed plan to ban public drug use, saying that the bill is no longer necessary.

Under current state law, possessing a small amount of illicit drugs is treated as a civil violation, not a criminal offense, and a $100 fine.

House Bill 2645 would have increased penalties for fentanyl possession with the punishment of 364 days in prison, a $6,250 fine, or both.

“We believe that House Bill 2645 addresses our primary concerns about the public health crisis unfolding on our streets, and it restores necessary law enforcement tools that were envisioned in my own ordinance,” Wheeler said in a statement. “Therefore, it is no longer necessary to pass an ordinance at the local level, and I will be withdrawing my proposed ordinance.”

Chuck Lovell, Portland Police Bureau chief, listens to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler speak to the media at City Hall in Portland, Oregon. Nathan Howard/Getty Images

Wheeler hoped this city proposal would crack down on what he called a “loophole” in the state law created by the voter-passed Measure 110.

“Use of illicit drugs in public spaces, especially dangerous and highly deadly substances like fentanyl, create significant public safety and public health issues in Portland,” Wheeler said. “While Measure 110 has challenged the way cities across the state address drug use, I believe the City of Portland has an obligation to do what we can to protect our community now.”

An older state law bars the city from creating its own ban and states that “a political subdivision in this state shall not adopt or enforce any local law or regulation” that makes “using cannabis or controlled substances in public” a crime.

Due to this state law, Wheeler said that his proposed ban would have “undoubtedly” been challenged in court.

“I applaud our state leadership for approving HB 2645. I expect this change will positively impact the City of Portland by expanding local law enforcement’s abilities to make Portland safer and healthier,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler said he’s instead confident that a new state bill will address his concerns with Measure 110. House Bill 2645 legislation makes it a criminal misdemeanor to possess one gram or more or five pills of any substance containing fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. This type of “Class A” misdemeanor comes with up to a year in jail or a $6,250 fine.

Wheeler said the bill “restores [the] necessary law enforcement tools envisioned in my ordinance.”

According to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), the number of fatal and unintentional overdoses involving fentanyl in Oregon more than doubled from 2021 to 2022. Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49.

The bill still allows Portlanders to consume small amounts of fentanyl in public without criminal penalties. A small dose of fentanyl goes a long way: According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, just two milligrams can be lethal.

“This legislation provides a critical tool to law enforcement to keep our communities safe,” said Republican state Rep. Jeff Helfrich, one of the bill’s chief sponsors and a retired Portland Police Bureau sergeant. “While I believe we must have real conversations surrounding Measure 110 reform, this bill allows us to start fighting this epidemic and will get fentanyl off our streets.”

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt says Wheeler’s prosed bill won’t help the drug addicts get the proper help they need to get drugs off the streets.

“We are constantly trying to get them into treatment, and the treatment services are unavailable for them,” Schmidt told local KATU News. “They’re sitting on waitlists, they’re waiting in our jails to get into treatment beds, so this idea to go back to criminalization to get them into services—it’s still the same problem. Where are the services to connect them to?”

The president of Portland’s police union, Aaron Schmautz, said although the new law only addresses fentanyl, it is also the most deadly and often hidden in other drugs.

“If you look at the way the law is written, it’s a gram of any substance that includes a detectable amount of fentanyl,” Schmautz said.

“This is the real issue we’re seeing with fentanyl in our community. It’s not just in a box with something that says ‘fentanyl.’ It’s in many different substances, and that’s why we’re seeing many people overdosing on it,” he added.