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A person holds drug paraphernalia near the Washington Center building on SW Washington Street, April 4, 2023, in downtown Portland, Ore. On Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, Democratic lawmakers in Oregon unveiled a sweeping new bill that would undo a key part of the state's first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law. The bill would recriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs as a low-level misdemeanor. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP, File)

Oregon lawmakers backpedal on first-in-the-nation decriminalization law amid rampant public drug use

By Claire Rush - Associated Press

A person holds drug paraphernalia near the Washington Center building on SW Washington St. in downtown Portland, Ore. on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Three years ago, nearly two-thirds of Oregon voters approved a ballot measure decriminalizing illicit drugs, backing the idea that addiction treatment is more effective than jail. But now, public drug use in cities such as Portland and a surge in fentanyl overdose deaths have created a backlash against the first-in-the-nation law. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP)

Oregon’s first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law faces growing pushback amid fentanyl crisis

By Claire Rush - Associated Press