Liberal State To Vote on Measure Protecting Possession of Hard Drugs
In what would be a first in the U.S., possession of small amounts of heroin, cocaine, LSD and other hard drugs could be decriminalized in Oregon under a ballot measure that voters are deciding on in Tuesday’s election.
Measure 110 is one of the most watched initiatives in Oregon because it would drastically change how the state’s justice system treats people caught with drugs for their personal use.
Instead of being arrested, going to trial and facing possible jail time, the users would have the option of paying $100 fines or attending new, free addiction recovery centers.
The centers would be funded by tax revenue from retail marijuana sales in the state that was the country’s first to decriminalize marijuana possession.
Countries including Portugal, the Netherlands and Switzerland have already decriminalized possession of small amounts of hard drugs, according to the United Nations.
In a 2019 report, the U.N. Chief Executives Board for Coordination announced its commitment to “promote alternatives to conviction and punishment in appropriate cases, including the decriminalization of drug possession for personal use.”
Doing so would “address prison overcrowding and overincarceration by people accused of drug crimes,” according to the board.
Oregon’s measure is backed by the Oregon Nurses Association, the Oregon chapter of the American College of Physicians and the Oregon Academy of Family Physicians.
“Punishing people for drug use and addiction is costly and hasn’t worked. More drug treatment, not punishment, is a better approach,” the groups said in a statement.
Opponents include two dozen district attorneys who say the measure “recklessly decriminalizes possession of the most dangerous types of drugs [and] will lead to an increase in acceptability of dangerous drugs.”
Three other district attorneys back the measure, including the top prosecutor in Oregon’s most populous county, which includes Portland, the state’s largest city.
“Misguided drug laws have created deep disparities in the justice system,” Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt said.
“Arresting people with addictions is a cruel punishment because it slaps them with a lifelong criminal record that can ruin lives.”
The measure would decriminalize possession of less than one gram of heroin or methamphetamine; two grams of cocaine; 12 grams of psilocybin mushrooms; 40 doses of LSD, oxycodone or methadone; and one gram or five pills of MDMA.
Marijuana tax revenues collected by the state in excess of $45 million annually would fund the centers.
Doing so would reduce the amount given to schools, the state police, mental health programs and local governments, according to the ballot measure’s financial impact statement published by the Oregon secretary of state.
Oregon’s voters in 2014 legalized the recreational use and sale of marijuana. The measure passed by fewer than 200,000 votes of the 1.5 million counted.
Given that margin, the more controversial hard drugs decriminalization measure is unlikely to pass, according to Catherine Bolzendahl, director of Oregon State University’s School of Public Policy.
The measure’s political action committee received a $500,000 donation from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan via the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which supports science and education work and promotes criminal justice reform.
“If the measure passes, Oregon will shift to a health-based approach to drugs and addiction,” the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s website says.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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