...this has become a common sight in the state's most populous city of Portland.

People on sidewalks, corners, and benches, crouched over torch lighters held up to sheets of tinfoil or meth pipes.

...and officers like David Baer issuing drug citations to users:

BAER: "Fentanyl came on the scene at the same time that decriminalization happened. And then we saw an explosion in public drug use downtown and unfortunately, that brought other issues into downtown such as gun violence and other crime."

Touted as a revolutionary approach at the time, Oregonians passed Measure 110 in 2020.

Its goal was to treat addiction as a public health matter - not a crime.

It made it so police could issue $100 citations along with a card that lists the number for an addiction treatment services hotline.

Instead of being arrested, the individual could call in exchange for help dismissing the citation.

But state data shows only 4 percent of people who received citations called the hotline.

HOOD: "All summer long, we were right out in the open, and you didn't have to be paranoid anymore. You didn't have to worry about the cops."

John Hood is a 61-year-old who uses drugs on Portland's streets.

"now - and I knew this was coming - they're cracking back down. They're wanting to make it illegal.""

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's most recent annual figures...

Nationwide, drug overdose deaths rose 0.7% to more than 109,000 Americans in 2023, compared to the previous year.

Oregon's increase over that period was 11%.

Facing public pressure amid the surge in overdose deaths, state lawmakers are preparing to vote on re-criminalization.

Democrats, who are the statehouse majority, are pushing for a bill to make small-scale drug possession a low-level misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail, with the opportunity to seek treatment instead of facing charges.

State senate majority leader Kate Lieber:

LIEBER: "... it became very, very obvious that what was happening on the streets of Portland and what was happening on Main Street, Oregon, was unacceptable. And we could not wait any longer to wait for the system to catch up. We needed to do something immediately."

The proposed bill also carries harsher sentences for drug dealers, wider access to medication for opioid addiction, and expanded recovery and housing services along with drug prevention programs.

But Republican lawmakers say the bill doesn't go far enough.

Their proposals include up to a year in jail for drug possession, with the option for treatment and probation instead of jail time.

Tera Hurst, whose Oregon Health Justice Recovery Alliance focused on Measure 110's implementation, does not believe the proposed changes will be effective.

HURST: "It's not actually going to save lives or help people get into services. It's going to create barriers to housing and employment, which is what criminal records do."