On Sept. 1, 2024, Oregon changed how it treats minor drug possession. Under a previous law, possessing small amounts of illegal drugs was treated as a low-level violation on par with a traffic ticket. Now, it’s a misdemeanor crime. The state set aside money for counties to develop programs known as deflection that steered people away from the justice system and into treatment. Here is a look at how many people qualified for deflection, entered a program and completed it.
| County▾ | Qualified▾ | Entered▾ | Did not complete▾ | Completed▾ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton | 14 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| Baker | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Clackamas | 124 | 66 | 8 | 15 |
| Clatsop | 37 | 31 | 8 | 5 |
| Columbia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Crook | 17 | 9 | 4 | 0 |
| Deschutes | 79 | 70 | 18 | 28 |
| Gilliam | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Grant | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harney | 10 | 10 | 3 | 2 |
| Hood River/Wasco | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Jackson | 112 | 107 | 43 | 49 |
| Josephine | 82 | 81 | 45 | 28 |
| Klamath | 45 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| Lane | 212 | 211 | 124 | 15 |
| Lincoln | 29 | 25 | 12 | 1 |
| Linn | 19 | 12 | 9 | 0 |
| Malheur | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Marion | 99 | 71 | 28 | 5 |
| Morrow | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Multnomah | 519 | 359 | 222 | 89 |
| Polk | 20 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Tillamook | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Umatilla | 26 | 14 | 5 | 4 |
| Union | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Washington | 82 | 80 | 24 | 24 |
| Yamhill | 119 | 83 | 68 | 2 |
| Total | 1727 | 1308 | 630 | 277 |
Note: The total does not account for people who are still in deflection programs.
Source: Oregon Criminal Justice Commission | Mark Graves, The Oregonian/OregonLive