This Alert was sent to members on October 13, 2005 

We don't normally focus on Portland issues, but Portland's "Drug Free Zone" ordinance has attracted national attention. The Portland City Council is reviewing and voting on a proposal to renew and possibly expand the "Drug Free Zones." These "Zones" were created in 1992 with the intent to combat drug sales in problem areas. The ordinance allows courts, district attorneys, and the police to issue exclusions that prevent people from entering the "Zones." Portland’s history has demonstrated very serious problems with how "Drug Free Zones" are used.

Police Can Issue 90-day Exclusions Without Charging a Person with a Crime

That means judges rarely scrutinize the use of these exclusions. People who are issued these exclusions by police can then be given criminal charges if the police find them in a "Drug Free Zone" during that time period.

• Other cities with various kinds of drug-free zones differ from Portland in that they include the fundamental principle that people must be given due process before a judge or a jury before removing their right to travel freely.
• The "no conviction" police exclusions create a situation where someone can get criminal charges for simply visiting a family member, attending school, or going to the doctor if they have been served an exclusion and where they need to travel is in a "drug free zone." 
• Evidence shows that Portland Police routinely exclude people from "Zones" when there is not enough evidence to prosecute.
  

The Implementation of Drug Free Zones Discriminates Against People of Color.

• In a motion filed by the Metropolitan Public Defenders that challenges the constitutionality of the law, they reviewed 800 cases where suspects were accused of violating exclusion orders, almost 60 percent of those alleged violators were black.
• In 2000, The Oregonian investigated the city’s use of Drug Free Zones and wrote that "a majority of exclusions get issued to minorities." 65% of the exclusions The Oregonian researched in 1999 were given to people of color.

The evidence suggests that the part of the ordinance that allows police to issue exclusions outside of the judicial process actually gives police a license to harass and engage in damaging racial profiling.

Ask the Mayor and the City Council to Change the Drug Free Zone Ordinance

• City residents deserve due process - Allowing police to serve zone exclusions without allowing due judicial process may be unconstitutional and certainly does not represent the values of Portland.
• No one should be given a drug free zone exclusion without a conviction.
• If the Drug Free Zone ordinance is to be renewed, it should be done on an annual basis, and a process should be created to more deeply assess its impact, constitutionality, and cost.
• The Mayor and City Council should ask the Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute at Portland State University to research the Drug Free Zones so there is more information available.

Mayor Tom Potter and the City Commissioners can be reached by mail at
1221 SW 4th, Portland, OR 97240

• Mayor Tom Potter Room # 340 Phone: (503) 823- 4210 mayorpotter@ci.portland.or.us [1]
• Commissioner Sam Adams Room #220 Phone: (503) 823-3008 commissionersam@ci.portland.or.us [2]
• Commissioner Randy Leonard Room #210 Phone (503) 823-4682 randy@ci.portland.or.us [3]
• Commissioner Dan Saltzman Room #230 Phone (503) 823-4151 dsaltzman@ci.portland.or.us [4]
• Commissioner Erik Sten Room #240 Phone (503) 823-3589 erik@ci.portland.or.us [5]

To Learn More About the Drug Free Zone Issue

The Oregonian published a lengthy article on the Drug Free Zone ordinance on July 30, 2000 called "Rights Getting Zoned Out." The Oregonian charges for access to their archive, but you may be able to access the archive through your public library website. For example, you can use the Multnomah County Library website to search the Oregonian archive here [6].

1. Click on the link for The Oregonian
2. Enter your Multnomah County library account to access the archive
3. Search the Oregonian archive by entering that date and the title of that article.
   

Many libraries have this service available.