Rep. Boice: Latest CDC data begs for M#110 repeal

OREGON OVERDOSE RATE HIGHTEST PER CAPITA IN THE NATION
REPEAL OF BALLOT MESURE 110 REMAINS CRITICAL
By Oregon State Representative Court Boice,

SALEM, OR – Representative Court Boice (R-Gold Beach) released the following statement regarding the recent news from the U.S. Center for Disease Control showing Oregon has seen the highest rate of increase of overdose deaths, 41.5%, of all states in the last 12-month period.

Visuals of overdosed victims literally dying on the streets of Portland no longer shock. Boice stands firm in his strong support for Oregon’s Law Enforcement and Public Safety Professionals stating, “Those heroes are still recovering from the last three years. We must always be aware of those tragedies they face every day.”

Representative Boice stated, “Oregon’s free for all acceptance of drug usage was the first state to decriminalize pot in America nearly 50 years ago, and then in 2020 the first in America to legalize hard drugs. We simply cannot continue the same mistakes. This remains and is so much about the future of our children and Grandchildren.”

Recently one of Boice’s Southern Oregon County District Attorneys wrote him the following, “Of even more concern is the death of young children. I have been a prosecutor for thirty-nine years. Never in my career and up until the last 20 months have I seen young children die of methamphetamine overdoses. In 2022, there was a four-month-old baby that died. Later that same year, a three-year old child died of meth intoxication. I fear because of Measure 110, people are not even going through the motions of hiding their drugs, thus making it easier for children to find these poisons.” Boice added, “this is just one of many crucial reasons why I am supporting common sense legislation that would greatly roll back those most liberal drug policies in the Nation.”

HB 4036 goes after the ‘pushers’ as the penalties for possession of a controlled substance would create a Class A misdemeanor crime of using drugs in a public place. It would require a court to sentence a person convicted of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance that results in the death of another person to a term of incarceration from 58 months to 130 months. This would also help address some of the bad, opportunist people that are flocking to our state.

Our Bill would also provide that a person charged with or convicted of a specific drug-related or property misdemeanor be ordered, as a condition of probation, to be evaluated for drug dependence and if rehabilitation is recommended that person be mandated to complete the treatment course.

HB 4036 would also establish the Opioid Overdose Rapid Response Grant Program to assist cities and counties in creating and supporting opioid rapid response teams. It would direct the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission to provide grants and funding to communities and tribes to support evidence-based services.

Finally, the bill would authorize the issuance of lottery bonds to be distributed to local governments for the purchase or renovation of physical infrastructure for substance abuse treatment and recovery programs.

Boice concluded, “The far left’s 40 years of legislative and state government control has caused the Crime, Homelessness, Addictions, Overdoses, Poverty and Deaths all to dramatically explode! We cannot waste any more time nor valuable resources. Oregon Leadership must act now and act decisively.”