04-03-2024, 03:19 AM
![[Image: lvsQYaY.png]](https://i.imgur.com/lvsQYaY.png)
Here’s Why Oregon Is Walking Back
Its Drug Decriminalization Law
Apr 2, 2024
Oregon reversed course on its high-profile three-year-long experiment to decriminalize drugs,
as Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek signed a bill Monday adding new criminal penalties for drug
possession amid increases in public drug use and opioid-related deaths.
![[Image: HI87hPb.png]](https://i.imgur.com/HI87hPb.png)
An officer from the US Customs and Border Protection, Trade and Cargo Division
finds Oxycodone pills in a parcel at John F. Kennedy Airport's US Postal Service
facility on June 24, 2019 in New York.
(Photo by JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)
KEY FACTS
Under the new law, beginning on Sept. 1, drug possession
will be a misdemeanor crime punishable by up to six months
in jail, undoing the decriminalization efforts of Measure 110,
a ballot initiative that made most drug possession offenses
punishable by fines, with the state aiming to focus more on
addiction treatment and services.
Kotek and other state Democrats have emphasized that the
new law still aims to put the focus on treatment and alternatives
to incarceration—the new law also offers pathways to try and
guide individuals away from incarceration, invests in new
addiction services facilities and would expunge future convictions
after three years.
In a signing letter, Kotek appeared to hint at the challenges
that hampered implementation of Measure 110, noting
“success of this policy framework hinges on the ability of
implementing partners to commit to deep coordination at all levels.”
State Democrats came to a bipartisan solution with Republicans,
longtime critics of Measure 110, as the state had significant
increases in overdose deaths and concerns grew about
public drug use.
Unintentional opioid overdose deaths more than tripled in Oregon
between 2019 and 2022, from 280 to 956, according to state data,
and a CDC analysis in 2023 found that drug overdose deaths
increased by 44% in Oregon between October 2022 and October 2023,
the largest increase in any state.
KEY BACKGROUND
Measure 110 was approved by 58% of voters in Oregon in 2020. But since then, even the
measure’s previous backers have been working on a legislative compromise for change
amid concern about drug use across the state. In Portland, city officials passed a September 2023
law banning public drug use amid concern about crime, homelessness and safety. Some
evidence suggests that the law itself was hampered by poor implementation—a joint investigation
by Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica earlier this year found state leaders failed to
implement initiatives to connect those fined by law enforcement with services, and that training
for law enforcement on their role in the process was lacking. A 2023 state audit on the
measure suggested that funding was slow to roll out and that many of the required services
for those struggling with abuse were not running at full capacity.
CHIEF CRITIC
Republican state Rep. Jeff Helfrich told CNN earlier this month that Measure 110 was
“an unmitigated disaster,” noting: “You look at what has happened: open fentanyl,
open drugs on the streets.”
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
The state’s own estimates in March determined the new framework would likely result in
1,333 new convictions each year—still lower than the numbers in the years prior to
decriminalization, but only by around 16%, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
CONTRA
It’s not clear how much decriminalization has contributed to the number of overdoses or
drug abuse in the state. At least one New York University study found no evidence to suggest
the law had any link to fatal drug overdoses, but at least one other study from the University
of Toronto found there was a link. Some lawmakers who voted against recriminalizing drugs
feared it would bring a return to law enforcement tactics that overwhelmingly targeted
Black men, according to the Associated Press, with Portland’s Democratic Sen. Lew Frederick
concerned that bringing penalties “will attempt to use the same tactics of the past, and fail,
only to reinforce the punishment narrative that has failed for 50 years.”
The Prison Policy Initiative argued against repealing decriminalization, noting the
Oregon Health Authority had recorded a nearly 300% increase in people seeking addiction
services since Measure 110 was enacted.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
Portland Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler agreed with the decision to recriminalize drugs,
but was cautious about the change, telling the New York Times: “I hope this isn’t an
excuse for people to turn their backs on the hard work of building a mental health system.”
Its Drug Decriminalization Law
Apr 2, 2024
Oregon reversed course on its high-profile three-year-long experiment to decriminalize drugs,
as Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek signed a bill Monday adding new criminal penalties for drug
possession amid increases in public drug use and opioid-related deaths.
An officer from the US Customs and Border Protection, Trade and Cargo Division
finds Oxycodone pills in a parcel at John F. Kennedy Airport's US Postal Service
facility on June 24, 2019 in New York.
(Photo by JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)
KEY FACTS
Under the new law, beginning on Sept. 1, drug possession
will be a misdemeanor crime punishable by up to six months
in jail, undoing the decriminalization efforts of Measure 110,
a ballot initiative that made most drug possession offenses
punishable by fines, with the state aiming to focus more on
addiction treatment and services.
Kotek and other state Democrats have emphasized that the
new law still aims to put the focus on treatment and alternatives
to incarceration—the new law also offers pathways to try and
guide individuals away from incarceration, invests in new
addiction services facilities and would expunge future convictions
after three years.
In a signing letter, Kotek appeared to hint at the challenges
that hampered implementation of Measure 110, noting
“success of this policy framework hinges on the ability of
implementing partners to commit to deep coordination at all levels.”
State Democrats came to a bipartisan solution with Republicans,
longtime critics of Measure 110, as the state had significant
increases in overdose deaths and concerns grew about
public drug use.
Unintentional opioid overdose deaths more than tripled in Oregon
between 2019 and 2022, from 280 to 956, according to state data,
and a CDC analysis in 2023 found that drug overdose deaths
increased by 44% in Oregon between October 2022 and October 2023,
the largest increase in any state.
KEY BACKGROUND
Measure 110 was approved by 58% of voters in Oregon in 2020. But since then, even the
measure’s previous backers have been working on a legislative compromise for change
amid concern about drug use across the state. In Portland, city officials passed a September 2023
law banning public drug use amid concern about crime, homelessness and safety. Some
evidence suggests that the law itself was hampered by poor implementation—a joint investigation
by Oregon Public Broadcasting and ProPublica earlier this year found state leaders failed to
implement initiatives to connect those fined by law enforcement with services, and that training
for law enforcement on their role in the process was lacking. A 2023 state audit on the
measure suggested that funding was slow to roll out and that many of the required services
for those struggling with abuse were not running at full capacity.
CHIEF CRITIC
Republican state Rep. Jeff Helfrich told CNN earlier this month that Measure 110 was
“an unmitigated disaster,” noting: “You look at what has happened: open fentanyl,
open drugs on the streets.”
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
The state’s own estimates in March determined the new framework would likely result in
1,333 new convictions each year—still lower than the numbers in the years prior to
decriminalization, but only by around 16%, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
CONTRA
It’s not clear how much decriminalization has contributed to the number of overdoses or
drug abuse in the state. At least one New York University study found no evidence to suggest
the law had any link to fatal drug overdoses, but at least one other study from the University
of Toronto found there was a link. Some lawmakers who voted against recriminalizing drugs
feared it would bring a return to law enforcement tactics that overwhelmingly targeted
Black men, according to the Associated Press, with Portland’s Democratic Sen. Lew Frederick
concerned that bringing penalties “will attempt to use the same tactics of the past, and fail,
only to reinforce the punishment narrative that has failed for 50 years.”
The Prison Policy Initiative argued against repealing decriminalization, noting the
Oregon Health Authority had recorded a nearly 300% increase in people seeking addiction
services since Measure 110 was enacted.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
Portland Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler agreed with the decision to recriminalize drugs,
but was cautious about the change, telling the New York Times: “I hope this isn’t an
excuse for people to turn their backs on the hard work of building a mental health system.”