Oregon bill would criminalize drug use on public transit

An amendment introduced to the Oregon Legislature Thursday would criminalize drug use on public transit.

The Oregon Transit Association and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757 are seeking to amend Senate Bill 1553 to create a misdemeanor charge for people who use illicit drugs while riding public transit.

The charge of interfering with public transportation would apply to a person who “while in or on a public transit vehicle or public transit station, knowingly ingests, inhales, injects, or otherwise consumes a controlled substance that is not lawfully possessed by the person,” the amendment reads.

People convicted on the charge would in many instances have access to state-funded treatment, according to the groups that proposed the legislation.