Two Washington men were cited for possession of small amounts of fentanyl during an incident on Interstate 84 in Baker County on Friday, June 3.

Oleg Nikolayevich Kuropatkin, 38, of Chattaroy, and Wayne J. Marchand, 49, of Spokane, were also cited for possession of methamphetamine.

The citations were violations, as both had amounts of the drugs that are consider user quantities based on Oregon law that voters changed when they approved Measure 110 in November 2020.

That measure eliminated criminal penalties for possession of smaller amounts of drugs, including meth, fentanyl, heroin and cocaine.

The threshold for meth is 2 grams, and for fentanyl it is 5 grams.

For people who have less than those amounts of the drugs the offense is now treated as a violation, similar to a traffic infraction. People can either pay a $100 fine or avoid the fine by seeking a health assessment at a drug treatment facility.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that’s 50 to 100 times more potent to heroin. It’s also easier to manufacturer and cheaper, and carries a higher risk of overdose, according to police and doctors. Fentanyl is sometimes added to counterfeit prescription opioid pills, and people who take it might not be aware that they’re ingesting fentanyl.

Officials blame fentanyl for contributing to Oregon’s 41% increase in overdose deaths in 2021, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

The Baker County incident started about 11:50 a.m. when Oregon State Police Trooper Dakotah Keys responded to a report from a citizen about two teenagers hitchhiking on the freeway near Farewell Bend.

Keys ended up talking with the two occupants in a 2005 Honda near Milepost 347 eastbound.

The driver, Kuropatkin, admitted he had inhaled fentanyl and consented to a search of the vehicle, according to Keys’ report.

Keys found both fentanyl, less than 5 grams, and meth, less than 2 grams.

Keys cited Kuropatkin for two violations at 1:20 p.m. on June 3.

The other person in the car, Kayla Sporn, 34, of Weiser, Idaho, had an outstanding warrant from the Malheur County Circuit Court for failure to appear.

Sporn was taken to the Malheur County Jail in Vale.

According to Keys’ report, Kuropatkin said his 11-year-old son was walking eastbound on the freeway shoulder with Marchand to get fuel at Farewell Bend.

Keys found the pair near Milepost 352, walking west. Marchand consented to a search, and Keys wrote in his report that he found fentanyl and meth, both in violation amounts.