Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) define controlled substances as drugs or immediate precursors classified Schedule I–V by the federal Controlled Substances Act, as modified under ORS 475.035. The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission created a sentencing guidelines grid, a two-dimensional classification tool with Crime Seriousness Scale on the vertical axis and Criminal History Scale on the horizontal axis. Criminal history categories range from A (three or more person felonies) to I (no juvenile felony adjudication and no adult felony or Class A misdemeanor adjudications) (ORS 137.667). The judge must impose the presumptive sentences, unless there are substantial and compelling reasons for a departure from that sentence.

Aggravated drug offenses in seriousness category nine carry sentences of 34–72 months' incarceration, and include causing another to ingest a controlled substance ...