Jim Hartman: Oregon reconsiders drug decriminalization

Oregon voters overwhelmingly passed Measure 110 in November 2020, the “Drug Addiction and Recovery Act,” with 58.5% approval statewide.

As a result, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize user amounts of all drugs – including hard drugs like heroin and methamphetamines.

Oregon was the first state to decriminalize marijuana, in 1973.

Proponents, led by the George Soros-funded Drug Policy Alliance, spent millions of dollars promoting the initiative. Measure 110 faced little organized opposition.

Nearly three years into this experiment that proponents hoped would spark a nationwide relaxation of drug laws, many Oregonians have turned against the decriminalization initiative.

Amid a spiraling addiction crisis and rampant homelessness, a clear majority of Oregon voters now say they support repealing Measure 110. Drug-overdose deaths have skyrocketed and squalid homeless camps have proliferated.

An August Emerson College poll found 56% of respondents favored full repeal of the law and 64% favored partial repeal by restoring penalties for possession of small amounts of hard drugs.

People laying across sidewalks openly smoking fentanyl or meth with no fear of consequences are common sights in Oregon cities like Eugene and Portland, where public drug use flourishes.

Business owners and local leaders are upset, but so are liberal voters who hoped decriminalization would lead to more people getting help. In reality, few drug users are taking advantage of state-funded rehabilitation programs.

People caught with a small quantity possession of hard drugs receive citations, like a parking ticket, and a $100 fine. Citations can be dismissed if the offender calls a treatment referral hotline. Only about 1% of people ticketed for drug possession have called the new hotline for help.

Most of the people smoking fentanyl or meth ball the citations up and throw them away. To many in law enforcement, issuing tickets is a waste of time. Fines are rarely enforced.

Before the law went into effect, people caught with small amounts of drugs were typically given a choice of court-mandated rehab or criminal sanctions such as jail time or probation.

Proponents badly misunderstood addiction, in the opinion of drug experts. It was a fantasy to believe decriminalizing drugs would result in users rushing in to volunteer for treatment programs.

The fundamental problem, according to law enforcement officers and drug treatment experts, is the threat of jail time hasn’t been replaced with an incentive for addicts to seek treatment.

Change in the law is likely. A coalition of city officials, police chiefs and district attorneys recently called on the legislature to recriminalize hard drugs.

Max Williams, former director of Oregon’s state prison system, is skeptical the legislature will make adequate changes to the law. He heads a group drafting a measure for the 2024 ballot that would again make it a crime to possess hard drugs like fentanyl while keeping funding for treatment (“amend, not end”).

It’s clear a solid majority of Oregonians, both Democrats and Republicans, have “buyer’s remorse” for passing Measure 110. They recognize it has failed and requires reform.

The Oregon experience is causing other states to pump the brakes on drug-decriminalization, including California, Colorado, Massachusetts and Maine.

Washington state that once seemed likely to follow Oregon’s lead raised the state’s penalty for drug possession and criminalized public drug use this year.

In Nevada, a bill (SB242) to decriminalize user amounts of “magic mushrooms” and the drug “ecstasy” was introduced in the Nevada Legislature by Sen. Rochelle Nguyen, D-Las Vegas.

Proponents claim these psychedelics are transformative for mental health. However, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has classified both as Schedule I substances, indicating a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use.

The final version of SB242, signed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in June, only created a study group on decriminalizing these psychedelics.

With the drug-decriminalization failure in Oregon, other states should take notice.

E-mail Jim Hartman at lawdocman1@aol.com.