Oregon lawmakers have moved to reintroduce criminal penalties for the possession of hard drugs, in effect ending the state’s groundbreaking three-year decriminalization experiment.

In 2020, nearly 60% of voters moved to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs with the passage of Measure 110, but the new law had grown increasingly controversial as the state grappled with the fentanyl crisis and growing public drug use.

Oregon legislatures have passed a bipartisan bill undoing a key part of the state’s decriminalization law, penalizing people for possession and selling small amounts of drugs. 

The bipartisan bill passed both state chambers on Friday and is headed to the desk of Gov. Tina Kotek (D), who showed willingness last month to curb the decriminalization in Oregon. 

The state Senate passed the legislation with a 21-8 vote on Friday following the lower chamber’s 51-7 vote on Thursday, according to the Associated Press (AP). 

Oregon is ready to end its "experiment" with drug decriminalization, according to one state senator. This comes as skyrocketing overdose deaths and public drug usage compelled the state legislature to re-introduce criminal penalties for possession in the Beaver State.

"About four Oregonians a day are dying because of overdoses," state Sen. Tim Knopp, a Republican and minority leader in the upper chamber, told "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Sunday.