[nyargh]

The main issue is that Portland was ground zero for a lot of the BLM protests and defund the police campaigns - not without good reason, either. The cops, who mostly live in the suburbs, essentially threw a collective tantrum and refused to do their jobs in Portland. This coincided with covid, newly decriminalized "hard" drugs, the rise of cheap fentanyl, and created a an explosion unprosecuted property and nuisance crimes.

Fundamentally the justice system is just broken in Oregon, and this is merely a political move to please cops and conservatives, that won't fix anything. The state just released a report that they will be short 1800 public defenders due to just this law alone.

"Catch and release" will continue, cops will cry for more budget and less oversight and the human misery of those caught up in addiction will just increase with further legal entanglements.