SALEM, Ore. – Republican State Representative Kevin Mannix announced his statutory overhaul of Measure 110, the widely discussed drug treatment and recovery act. We’re about halfway through the 2024 legislative regular session, and the bipartisan struggle to amend M-110 continues.
Representative Mannix believes his proposal strikes the balance between criminalization and rehabilitation. He’s proposing a special drug misdemeanor categorization, separate from ordinary Class A or Class C misdemeanors. Under a special misdemeanor, you can be held in custody for up to one year after your arrest date. Mannix says custodial placement could take place at home, in treatment center, or in jail as a last resort. Mannix says a continuum of care is necessary to ensure both treatment and accountability, and that these must coincide to be successful.
“It’s meant to be a blend of accountability and rehabilitation with the opportunity for custody, but custody does not have to mean that you’re in jail,” Mannix says.
Mannix says ordinary crime classifications are unfitting and outdated for Oregon’s unprecedented drug problem. He plans to circulate a draft bill among his fellow legislators for consideration.
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