The introduction of a re-criminalization of drugs in Blue City provides for prison sentences for suspects caught at night or on weekends

According to police, people caught with drugs in Portland, Oregon between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. and on weekends could be arrested and sent to jail starting next week.

It's a temporary solution as Multnomah County works to set up and operate a diversion center to offer people suspected of possessing small amounts of drugs the option of treatment instead of jail time once drugs are criminalized again on Sept. 1, The Oregonian reported Monday.

Oregon pioneered the nation's first drug decriminalization law, which went into effect in early 2021. But rising overdose deaths and rampant public drug use quickly turned voters against the measure. Numerous surveys showed.

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This spring, Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek signed a bill that creates a new misdemeanor for drug possession and gives people caught with small amounts of substances like meth and fentanyl a choice: undergo treatment or go to jail for up to six months. Treatment includes behavioral screening and participation in state-funded diversion programs.

But a shortage of nurses has delayed the opening of the Multnomah County diversion center until at least mid-October, local media previously reported.

Instead, the county will use mobile social workers alongside police to refer people caught with drugs to support services. However, these social workers will only be on duty from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, The Oregonian reported.

“Any individuals contacted outside of these hours will be taken to jail under my directive,” Portland Police Chief Bob Day said Monday at a public safety meeting, the outlet reported.

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Multnomah County District Court Judge Michael Greenlick expressed concerns about the disparate consequences for people who do not comply with their work hours, calling it “very problematic even from a basic equal treatment and fairness protection standpoint.”

“If you happen to have an interaction at 8:05 p.m., you're going to be involved in the court system,” Greenlick said at the meeting, according to The Oregonian. “But if it's at 7:55 p.m., you're out for distraction.”

The police department, which is struggling with staffing shortages and slow response times to calls for service, is also trying to determine how long it will take to wait for peer specialists to arrive on weekdays.

“We are discussing how long one can reasonably wait, not only in the interests of the officers but also in the interests of the individuals and the jurisprudence, for example, how long can we stand there with someone in handcuffs or in the back of a police car waiting for a mental health professional to show up?” Day said at the meeting.

A woman sits next to syringes, a pipe, foil and other drug paraphernalia in her tent in Portland, Oregon, in July 2023. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdose deaths in Oregon rose from 800 in 2020 to about 1,400 in 2022. Proponents of decriminalization point out that fatal overdoses began increasing across the country in early 2020, not just in Oregon. Many analysts attribute the increase to isolation and desperation during the coronavirus pandemic.

Overdose deaths have declined nationwide over the past year, according to CDC data. But while most of the country has seen a slight recovery, Oregon, Washington and Alaska have seen increases of nearly 30 percent.

According to Oregon state health data, the vast majority of fatal overdoses are now caused by fentanyl.