Primmer waits to see Measure 110 impacts
By Terry Murry on Friday, February 19th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – Oregon has decriminalized possession of user amounts of narcotics. Umatilla County Community Justice Director Dale Primmer said there hasn’t been an impact felt locally yet, but one will come.
“Roughly 60 percent or so of the people that are participating in the county’s drug court are being referred to that program through possession of controlled substances offenses,” Primmer said.
Prosecutors have said that other less serious criminal charges are dropped if a person will agree to seek treatment from the Umatilla County Drug Court. Now those more serious charges will hold sway. “Does that then evolve later into a property crime or to some other kind of statutory crime that lands them into the system,” Primmer wondered.
