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Oregon’s Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek on Monday signed into law a bill that recriminalizes the possession of small amounts of drugs, ending a first-in-the-nation experiment with decriminalization that was hobbled by implementation issues. The new law rolls back a 2020 voter-approved measure by making so-called personal use possession a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. It also establishes ways for treatment to be offered as an alternative to criminal penalties by encouraging law enforcement agencies to create deflection programs that would divert people to addiction and mental health services instead of the criminal justice system. (4/1)

Oregon’s governor has signed a measure to reimpose criminal penalties for hard drugs. Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland talks about why the experiment “failed.” (Baker, 4/1)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: Track Opioid Settlement Payouts — To The Cent — In Your Community 

State and local governments are receiving billions of dollars in settlements from companies that made, sold, or distributed prescription painkillers and were accused of fueling the opioid crisis. More than a dozen companies will pay the money over nearly two decades. As of late February 2024, more than $4.3 billion had landed in government coffers. �鶹Ů�� Health News has been tracking how that money is used — or misused — nationwide. (Pattani, Zuraw and Hacker, 4/2)

Floridians will vote on recreational marijuana in November after the Florida Supreme Court signed off Monday on ballot language for a proposed constitutional amendment. The amendment would permit nonmedical marijuana use and would remove criminal or civil penalties for adults over 21 who possess and use up to 3 ounces of pot for personal use. (Wilson and Ellenbogen, 4/1)

Mayor Brandon Johnson debuted his pick for Chicago’s first chief homelessness officer during a Monday news conference that also saw him stand firm against the real estate lobby and other political adversaries over his progressive agenda. Sendy Soto, a former senior director at the Chicago Community Trust and ex-managing deputy commissioner at the city’s Department of Housing, will helm the post starting next week, the mayor’s office announced. Soto’s chief task will be to develop a five-year plan on addressing the city’s homelessness crisis. (Yin, 4/1)