Rep. Mannix: First day of HB 4002 implementation

Representative Kevin Mannix makes statement on the implementation of House Bill 4002
By Oregon State Representative Kevin Mannix,

September 1, 2024 — SALEM, OR – Representative Kevin Mannix released the following statement following the first day of implementation of House Bill 4002 passed during the 2024 legislative session.

“Today marks the first day for Oregon to get back on the road towards a justice system which holds people accountable for possessing or using hard drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl.

We will be able to intervene to prevent such activity and to press addicted people into treatment. This ends the legalization of hard drugs which had prevented law enforcement from intervening, even when hard drugs were being consumed quite blatantly in public places.

I worked hard to bring my fellow legislators together on this issue since I am a member of the Joint Committee tasked with addressing this issue. I proposed the creation of an unclassified misdemeanor crime so that we could both prevent this activity and hold people accountable with a system that pressed them into treatment.

This legislation also sends a message that we are no longer welcoming drug addicted people coming to Oregon to take advantage of our lack of law enforcement capability. We also have toughened penalties for drug traffickers to pull them off the streets so they will stop pulling people into addiction and profiting from that addiction.

I was pleased that we were able to pull together Democrats and Republicans to support this important legislation. We now must take steps to provide more treatment facilities and programs to address these addiction needs.

My mission now is to make sure we continue on this course to make further progress in addressing the issues of drug addiction, drug trafficking, and crime.”