Portland drug rehabilitation program makes slow progress after renewed criminalization

PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) – Three weeks after Oregon reinstated penalties for drug possession, county leaders received an update on the new diversion program designed to reduce the impact of arrests on addicts.

Currently, Multnomah County's diversion efforts are entirely street-based. The county's planned drop-off center is not yet operational, meaning police officers must rely on field teams to directly assist individuals arrested for drug possession.

During a meeting today, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, who is leading the diversion initiative, received an update on how the program has been working since the new law took effect on September 1.

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Since that date, Portland police have made 70 arrests for drug possession. Of those, 14 people – about 20% – were referred to diversion services. Vega Pederson acknowledged that the program's eligibility criteria may need to be revised.

“We have defined someone who is eligible for diversion as a person whose only charge is possession of a controlled substance (PCS). If someone is arrested with additional charges, they are not eligible for diversion, and that is what we see in practice,” she said. “What I am interested in is what those other charges are and whether they are also eligible for diversion.”

So far, 37 people have been diverted across the county through the new system. Since there is no dedicated handover center, officers on site call an emergency number to request an employee to arrive within 30 minutes. The diversion program runs Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In Gresham, about a third of those arrested for drug possession were dismissed, but Police Chief Travis Gullberg said the process did not always go smoothly.

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“A couple of times we had to wait a long time for someone to come,” Gullberg said. “One of our officers decided to wait over an hour, even though we recommend a 20-30 minute wait. He felt it was best to connect the person to diversion services because he knew someone was on the way.”

Despite these initial challenges, Gullberg remains optimistic about the program. “None of us thought it would be easy, but we know how important this process is. Overall, I'm still confident,” he added.

Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt said his office saw an increase in drug possession cases earlier in the month, but the case flow has since slowed. Meanwhile, the Multnomah County Sheriff reported that under the new law, the jail is processing about one person per day, with the average length of stay being about three hours.

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