Drugs

 NBC -Signs of homelessness and drug use are becoming increasingly visible in Oregon and San Fransisco, two West Coast locales where criminal justice reforms aimed at reducing prison populations went into effect in recent years. Now, new laws are being enacted to rein in dangerous street drugs and curb their use in public — a revival of the sort of policy President Richard Nixon initiated in 1971 to disrupt the international drug trade. In Oregon, in response to skyrocketing overdose rates, lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a bill that would make possession of drugs such as heroin and methamphetamine a misdemeanor, as well as enable police to confiscate drugs and cite people for having even small amounts. In San Francisco, voters approved a ballot measure to screen and enroll in treatment welfare recipients who are suspected of using drugs.But advocates say the new policies are a "knee-jerk reaction" that will only fill jails with people who need treatment, and some have taken it upon themselves to offer a solution. Reporter Alicia Victoria Lozano recounts the move away from drug criminalization in Oregon and California — and the ensuing shift back — and accompanies a group of volunteers who are trying to find a different way forward. Read the full story.