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View Full Version : Oregon’s state legislature just reduced penalties for drug possession




Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 06:12 PM
H.B. 2355 (https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB2355) passed both the House and Senate last week and reduces possession of illegal drugs to misdemeanors rather than felonies as long as the person in possession does not have prior drug convictions. According to a press release (http://www.doj.state.or.us/releases/Pages/2017/rel070717.aspx) issued on July 7 by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, the bill provides for “the reduction of penalties for lower level drug offenders. The bill also reduces the maximum penalty for Class A misdemeanors by one day to avoid mandatory deportation for misdemeanants.”
According to the text (https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB2355) of the bill, drugs like LSD, MDMA, cocaine, meth, oxycodone, and heroin are essentially decriminalized in small amounts. Each drug listed is accompanied by the following text, indicating possession is only a felony if:

“(a) The person possesses a usable quantity of the controlled substance and: (A) At the time of the possession, the person has a prior felony conviction; (B) At the time of the possession, the person has two or more prior convictions for unlawful possession of a usable quantity of a controlled substance.”
The “misdemeanor” title applies for varying amounts of different drugs. For example, the maximum allowable amount of acid is up to “40 units,” while individuals may have up to five MDMA pills or less than one gram before their “offense” crosses the line into a felony. Less than two grams of cocaine constitutes a misdemeanor.
As Rep. Mitch Greenlick, a Democrat representing Portland, told (https://www.thelundreport.org/content/oregon-house-approves-bills-decriminalizing-drug-possession) Portland-based health outlet the Lund Report:

“We’ve got to treat people, not put them in prison. It would be like putting them in the state penitentiary for having diabetes… This is a chronic brain disorder and it needs to be treated this way.”

“When you put people in prison and given them a felony conviction, you make it very hard for them to succeed,” he added.
The bill also reduces probation periods for both felony and misdemeanor drug charges.

More at: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-07-11/oregon-legislature-passes-bill-decriminalize-cocaine-meth-and-heroin

They only did this to protect illegals from ICE.

But we must take what we can get

Zippyjuan
07-11-2017, 06:28 PM
Don't see any connections with illegal immigrants mentioned. Are you assuming that illegal immigrants are all drug users?

Rehab is usually more effective (and cost effective) than putting them in jail on tax payer's dime. They are considerably less likely to re-offend with rehab vs jail.

Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 06:33 PM
Don't see any connections with illegal immigrants mentioned. Are you assuming that illegal immigrants are all drug users?

Rehab is usually more effective (and cost effective) than putting them in jail on tax payer's dime. They are considerably less likely to re-offend with rehab vs jail.
If it is not a felony they don't have to report it to ICE when the arrested individual is an illegal, there has been a wave of this kind of legal "reform" in sanctuary states.
And there is a high rate of drug use/dealing among illegals.

Zippyjuan
07-11-2017, 06:39 PM
If it is not a felony they don't have to report it to ICE when the arrested individual is an illegal, there has been a wave of this kind of legal "reform" in sanctuary states.
And there is a high rate of drug use/dealing among illegals.

That is a myth.

https://www.cato.org/publications/immigration-reform-bulletin/criminal-immigrants-their-numbers-demographics-countries


Criminal Immigrants: Their Numbers, Demographics, and Countries of Origin

By Michelangelo Landgrave and Alex Nowrasteh
March 15, 2017

In his first week in office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security to deport most illegal immigrants who come in contact with law enforcement.1His order is based on the widespread perception that illegal immigrants are a significant source of crime in the United States.2 This brief uses American Community Survey data to analyze incarcerated immigrants according to their citizenship and legal status. All immigrants are less likely to be incarcerated than natives relative to their shares of the population. Even illegal immigrants are less likely to be incarcerated than native-born Americans.

http://www.newsweek.com/immigrants-mexico-rapists-ice-immigration-629866


IMMIGRANTS ARE NOT ‘CRIMINALS, DRUG DEALERS AND RAPISTS,’ ICE DIRECTOR SAYS, CONTRADICTING TRUMP


The acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Thomas Homan, has effectively conceded that a claim that helped propel Donald Trump toward the White House was, as the president might put it, “fake news.”

During an off-camera briefing at the White House on Wednesday, Homan was asked whether undocumented immigrants committed more crimes than native-born Americans. He said they did not, according to CNN reporter Jim Acosta.

The comment stands in stark contrast to what kick-started Trump’s campaign for presidency two years ago.

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” Trump said as he announced his candidacy in June 2015. “They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

The message that undocumented immigrants were not just breaking the law by entering the United States but were far likelier than U.S. citizens to do so once in the country was repeated often during Trump’s campaign. Trump many times also highlighted specific cases of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants and made the victims and their families mainstays of his campaign speeches.



The statistics, though, have never backed up Trump’s claims. Not only do undocumented immigrants not commit more crimes than native-born Americans, but, as a whole, immigrants actually commit fewer offenses.

Census data taken between 1980 and 2000 showed that among men aged between 18 and 39, native-born Americans were anywhere from two to five times more likely to be incarcerated.

A March 2017 study from the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, found that illegal immigrants had incarceration rates of 0.85 percent, compared to 1.53 percent for native-born Americans. A study from the Sentencing Project, also from March, noted, “Research dating back more than a century documents a pattern whereby the foreign-born are involved in crime at significantly lower rates than their peers.”

Despite those facts, ICE has dramatically stepped up its efforts under Trump, and in May announced a 40 percent increase in arrests from late January to late April over the same period last year.

phill4paul
07-11-2017, 06:39 PM
If it is not a felony they don't have to report it to ICE when the arrested individual is an illegal, there has been a wave of this kind of legal "reform" in sanctuary states.
And there is a high rate of drug use/dealing among illegals.

No more so than there is a high rate of drug use/dealing among Americans. It's good to deregulate possession. Period. I still don't much care for Oregon. Had a friend move there and he is harvesting his first crop. He's white. He was born an American. Good for him. Still, Oregon doesn't appeal to me.

Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 06:43 PM
That is a myth.

https://www.cato.org/publications/immigration-reform-bulletin/criminal-immigrants-their-numbers-demographics-countries

CATO will say anything to bring in more to drive down the price of labor.

Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 06:43 PM
No more so than there is a high rate of drug use/dealing among Americans. It's good to deregulate possession. Period. I still don't much care for Oregon. Had a friend move there and he is harvesting his first crop. He's white. He was born an American. Good for him. Still, Oregon doesn't appeal to me.

I said:

They only did this to protect illegals from ICE.

But we must take what we can get.

phill4paul
07-11-2017, 06:54 PM
I said:

They only did this to protect illegals from ICE.

But we must take what we can get.

I saw that. And it is bunk.

Ender
07-11-2017, 07:00 PM
I saw that. And it is bunk.

Agree.

Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 07:02 PM
I saw that. And it is bunk.
What is bunk? I think that it is better that it is now a misdemeanor, but Oregon was in no hurry to do this until it would help protect illegals.

Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 07:03 PM
Agree.

What is bunk? I think that it is better that it is now a misdemeanor, but Oregon was in no hurry to do this until it would help protect illegals.

Zippyjuan
07-11-2017, 07:09 PM
CATO will say anything to bring in more to drive down the price of labor.

There are many other sources as well.


They only did this to protect illegals from ICE.

How may illegal immigrants in Oregon would this likely impact? Hundreds? Thousands? Oregon reportedly had 1,473 "foreign born" inmates in 2016. http://www.oregon.gov/doc/OC/docs/pdf/IB-54-ICE%20Criminal%20Aliens.pdf


Of the more than 14,500 individuals incarcerated in
Oregon, 1,473 of them report – or their intake
records indicate – they were born outside of the
United States.

A person’s place of birth does not necessarily
determine his or her citizenship. For instance, a
person born abroad may be a U.S. citizen if he or
she has an American parent or has been naturalized
in the United States.

People who are not citizens are considered “aliens.”
Their nationality or place of birth is not a valid
indicator of their alien status – legal or illegal.
Many people live, work, and visit the United States
and hold valid visas

"Foreign born" includes those in the country legally as well as those in the country illegally. If we eliminate those foreign born but in the country legally, we eliminate about three fourths of them (based on US demographics- 19 million "foreign born" and about 11 million illegally here) we are down to 362 illegal immigrants this law could impact. (without more detailed information, I have to assume a similar distribution).

Then we reduce it to the percent of prisoners in jail for drug crimes- six percent of all prisoners. http://www.oregon.gov/doc/RESRCH/docs/poprep.pdf We are down to 22 people.

Then we have to further reduce that number by the percent of all drug arrests made of people possessing what would be re-classified under the new law and you are probably down to about ten people. Yeah- it is all about ICE and illegal immigrants. :rolleyes:

Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 07:13 PM
There are many other sources as well.



How may illegal immigrants in Oregon would this likely impact? Hundreds? Thousands? Oregon reportedly had 1,450 "foreign born" inmates in 2016 or 0.85% of their prison population. http://www.oregon.gov/doc/OC/docs/pdf/IB-54-ICE%20Criminal%20Aliens.pdf



"Foreign born" includes those in the country legally as well as those in the country illegally. If we eliminate those foreign born but in the country legally, we eliminate about three fourths of them (based on US demographics- 19 million "foreign born" and about 11 million illegally here) we are down to 362 illegal immigrants this law could impact.

Then we reduce it to the percent of prisoners in jail for drug crimes- six percent of all prisoners. http://www.oregon.gov/doc/RESRCH/docs/poprep.pdf We are down to 22 people. Then we have to further reduce that number by the percent of all drug arrests made of people possessing what would be re-classified under the new law and you are probably down to about ten people. Yeah- it is all about ICE and illegal immigrants. :rolleyes:

For the sake of argument I will accept your numbers because they don't affect the argument.
Liberals are not known for being rational, this was an emotional move, it happened now and not before because of Dump's immigration push, they want to RESIST through any symbolic measures they can.

Zippyjuan
07-11-2017, 07:19 PM
For the sake of argument I will accept your numbers because they don't affect the argument.
Liberals are not known for being rational, this was an emotional move, it happened now and not before because of Dump's immigration push, they want to RESIST through any symbolic measures they can.

It has actually been in the planning since before Trump was elected- and pushed by their law enforcement officials. http://www.ktvz.com/news/oregon-sheriffs-police-chiefs-back-new-stance-on-drug-possession/98744574


Oregon sheriffs, police chiefs back new stance on drug possession

SALEM, Ore. - Oregon's sheriffs and police chiefs announced Monday they will support changes in state laws to make user-amount drug possession charges misdemeanors, not felonies, as long as there is mandated treatment.

Their stance drew praise from Oregon's attorney general.

Here's the full joint statement from the Oregon State Sheriffs' Association and Oregon Association Chiefs of Police:

Oregon Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police recognize that every community and most of our citizens are touched in one way or another by the damaging impacts of drug addiction.

We understand that it ruins lives, breaks hearts, burdens families and robs our communities of individuals with potential.

Too often, individuals with addiction issues find their way to the doorstep of the criminal justice system when they are arrested for possession of a controlled substance.

The penalty is often a felony drug conviction where the person may receive a jail sentence, are placed on probation and receive limited treatment services.

Unfortunately, felony convictions in these cases also include unintended and collateral consequences including barriers to housing and employment and a disparate impact on minority communities.

Oregon Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police are committed to work with the Governor, Attorney General, District Attorneys, members of the Oregon State Legislature and stakeholders to craft a more thoughtful approach to drug possession when it is the only crime committed.

Oregon Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police recommend that user-amount drug possession convictions be treated as misdemeanors and recommend that offenders be carefully assessed and given individualized, mandated treatment as a condition of their conviction.

If successful, drug abusers will return to health and productivity and will not commit future crimes where they become further entangled in the criminal justice system.

This approach continues to demand accountability while applying limited resources to treatment and services to address the underlying addiction and prevent future crime. We believe our limited criminal justice resources should be focused on addressing violent crime and property crime problems that destroy community livability.

More at link.

phill4paul
07-11-2017, 07:24 PM
What is bunk? I think that it is better that it is now a misdemeanor, but Oregon was in no hurry to do this until it would help protect illegals.

They were the first state to legalize small amounts of Marijuana. Care to guess which year that was in? I hardly think that the foundations laid by legalization proponents then, could have ever predicted the creation of "sanctuary cities" now. Get over your shit. They may be flaming libs out there but decriminalization wasn't a result, or out of concern, for the illegals.

Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 09:33 PM
They were the first state to legalize small amounts of Marijuana. Care to guess which year that was in? I hardly think that the foundations laid by legalization proponents then, could have ever predicted the creation of "sanctuary cities" now. Get over your $#@!. They may be flaming libs out there but decriminalization wasn't a result, or out of concern, for the illegals.

Why so mad? I want decriminalization too, Oregon is soft on illegals one way or the other, just because I believe something different about the legislature's motives in this case is no reason to get mad.

Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 09:35 PM
It has actually been in the planning since before Trump was elected- and pushed by their law enforcement officials. http://www.ktvz.com/news/oregon-sheriffs-police-chiefs-back-new-stance-on-drug-possession/98744574



More at link.

Oregon Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police are different from the legislature. It happened now and not before because of Dump's immigration push.

phill4paul
07-11-2017, 09:42 PM
Why so mad? I want decriminalization too, Oregon is soft on illegals one way or the other, just because I believe something different about the legislature's motives in this case is no reason to get mad.

I'm not mad, brah. Just correcting your misguided interpretations of why the laws were passed. I can understand why you have cognitive dissonance but let it go. Take a well earned bong hit. Freedom is freedom. Anything else is not. What the fuck do you want? MORE people or LESS people arrested for doing drugs? Does everyone have the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God as there sole inheritance or only Americans?

phill4paul
07-11-2017, 09:46 PM
Oregon Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police are different from the legislature. It happened now and not before because of Dump's immigration push.

And at least two people are telling you that you are full of shit. I know people from Oregon. I know a white guy that threw the dice and just reaped his first harvest. You, honestly, don't know what the fuck you are talking about. It's called projection. Dim that light and turn the lens around.

Origanalist
07-11-2017, 09:51 PM
No more so than there is a high rate of drug use/dealing among Americans. It's good to deregulate possession. Period. I still don't much care for Oregon. Had a friend move there and he is harvesting his first crop. He's white. He was born an American. Good for him. Still, Oregon doesn't appeal to me.

I'll take Idaho over Oregon any day.

phill4paul
07-11-2017, 09:58 PM
I'll take Idaho over Oregon any day.

I'm fine where I'm at. I'm an agorist. It works anywhere. Not without it's dangers though. Those are pretty much anywhere.

Origanalist
07-11-2017, 10:03 PM
I'm fine where I'm at. I'm an agorist. It works anywhere. Not without it's dangers though. Those are pretty much anywhere.

I just prefer a place where you can smoke in the bar, ride your bike without a helmet and open carry without people freaking out. (unless it's changed in recent years)

Ender
07-11-2017, 10:04 PM
What is bunk? I think that it is better that it is now a misdemeanor, but Oregon was in no hurry to do this until it would help protect illegals.

The Oregon Decriminalization Bill of 1973 abolished criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 10:06 PM
The Oregon Decriminalization Bill of 1973 abolished criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.
And they were in such a rush to expand it that it took them until now, right?

Ender
07-11-2017, 10:16 PM
And they were in such a rush to expand it that it took them until now, right?

In 1988, due to the success of the DEA's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting in California, Oregon rivaled California nationally in cannabis production.[8] In the 1990s, Oregon was a national leader in indoor cannabis cultivation, along with California, Washington, Kentucky and South Florida.[9][10] For the decade ending in 1991, the DEA considered Oregon the "nation's cradle of indoor marijuana growing."[11] In 2006, Oregon was the fourth largest indoor cannabis producing state, and the tenth largest cannabis producing state overall.[12]

Effective July 1, 2015 (per Section 82(1)) the measure legalizes the possession and use of marijuana for adults 21-years of age or older. Adults can carry up to one ounce of marijuana, keep up to eight ounces at home per household, and grow up to four plants per household.[7]

Retail sales outlets will be licensed by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which must begin accepting applications on or before January 4, 2016.[7] Early sales started October 1, 2015 through existing medical marijuana dispensaries.[8] Sales topped $11 million in the first week that recreational marijuana was legally available for sale in Oregon.[9]

Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 10:17 PM
In 1988, due to the success of the DEA's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting in California, Oregon rivaled California nationally in cannabis production.[8] In the 1990s, Oregon was a national leader in indoor cannabis cultivation, along with California, Washington, Kentucky and South Florida.[9][10] For the decade ending in 1991, the DEA considered Oregon the "nation's cradle of indoor marijuana growing."[11] In 2006, Oregon was the fourth largest indoor cannabis producing state, and the tenth largest cannabis producing state overall.[12]

Effective July 1, 2015 (per Section 82(1)) the measure legalizes the possession and use of marijuana for adults 21-years of age or older. Adults can carry up to one ounce of marijuana, keep up to eight ounces at home per household, and grow up to four plants per household.[7]

Retail sales outlets will be licensed by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which must begin accepting applications on or before January 4, 2016.[7] Early sales started October 1, 2015 through existing medical marijuana dispensaries.[8] Sales topped $11 million in the first week that recreational marijuana was legally available for sale in Oregon.[9]

Marijuana, not anything else. Until Dump's immigration push.

phill4paul
07-11-2017, 10:21 PM
I just prefer a place where you can smoke in the bar, ride your bike without a helmet and open carry without people freaking out. (unless it's changed in recent years)

Where's that? My dining room is my bar, I don't care to ride a bike anymore. Laws can't fix dumbasses, it can only regulate them. I can't open carry. I could but it only causes trouble. I conceal carry but I don't have the required license. I prefer a place too. Here or at a friends place.

Ender
07-11-2017, 10:21 PM
Marijuana, not anything else. Until Dump's immigration push.

So. What?

Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 10:22 PM
So. What?
So I am right about why they suddenly reduced the penalty for other drugs.

phill4paul
07-11-2017, 10:26 PM
So. What?

It's his forum schtick. Roll with it or ignore it. As I recall Patsysmyth was a Trumphumper. Now she's not? "Dump?" Sacrilege!

Ender
07-11-2017, 10:33 PM
So I am right about why they suddenly reduced the penalty for other drugs.

Links?

Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 10:34 PM
It's his forum schtick. Roll with it or ignore it. As I recall Patsysmyth was a Trumphumper. Now she's not? "Dump?" Sacrilege!
I have never supported Dump, I have attacked him for many failings.

Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 10:36 PM
Links?
They are copying Denver among others.

Denver is set to change its sentencing ordinance to help some immigrants avoid deportation
http://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/27/denver-sentencing-reform-immigrants-deportation/

Origanalist
07-11-2017, 10:37 PM
Where's that? My dining room is my bar, I don't care to ride a bike anymore. Laws can't fix dumbasses, it can only regulate them. I can't open carry. I could but it only causes trouble. I conceal carry but I don't have the required license. I prefer a place too. Here or at a friends place.

Ok old timer.

Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 10:39 PM
It's his forum schtick. Roll with it or ignore it. As I recall Patsysmyth was a Trumphumper. Now she's not? "Dump?" Sacrilege!
YOU were one of the IDIOTS supporting his cronyism in this thread: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?504777-Trump-SAVES-1000-Carrier-Jobs!/page15&highlight=Carrier

I attacked him for it.

phill4paul
07-11-2017, 10:55 PM
I have never supported Dump, I have attacked him for many failings.

Mea culpa. I mistook you for another. Please accept my apology.

Swordsmyth
07-11-2017, 10:56 PM
Mea culpa. I mistook you for another. Please accept my apology.
Accepted.