In 2020, 58% of Oregon voters passed what may have been one of the most consequential ballot measures of this century. The objective of Measure 110 was to eliminate the criminalization of minor drug possession and substitute associated penalties with a $100 fine and a card containing a number for addiction treatment services. In exchange for dismissing the citation, the offender can elect to call the hotline to seek rehabilitation.
At the time, advocates of the Measure 110 contended that it would constitute a progressive stride toward the cessation of the war on drugs, an endeavor that has disproportionately and substantially incarcerated minorities. For example, the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a nonprofit advocacy organization that contributed to the initiative’s funding, argued, “Measure 110 is arguably the biggest blow to the war on drugs to date. It shifts the focus where it belongs—on people and public health—and removes one of the most common justifications for law enforcement to harass, arrest, prosecute, incarcerate, and deport people.”
A number of Oregon residents at the time found this ballot initiative to be logical. Too many families have been torn apart for far too long by drugs, because of both their harmful effects and loved ones being incarcerated as a result of being caught using or selling them. Reformulating the approach to drug addicts from criminals to patients would constitute an important transition in preventing future substance use.
Oregon was not the first to do it, either. Portugal completely decriminalized drugs in 2001. However, much like Portugal’s law, Oregon’s is currently encountering significant criticism due to its dismal outcomes and the escalating number of overdose fatalities.
The intent of the Oregon law was to view drug use as a health concern, rather than a criminal offense, but people who are discovered using drugs should be forced to seek help, not merely encouraged to do so. Remember those cards that were included with the $100 citations? There was no penalty for nonpayment of the $100. As a consequence, in total, less than 4% of penalties were expunged through the use of the hotline, and just about everyone did not even pay the fine because there were no legal repercussions for not doing so.
Now, lawmakers are reconsidering their approach to drug crimes. Today, four years after the ballot measure was passed, the results are abysmal. In 2019, just one year before the ballot measure was passed, there were 280 overdose deaths across the entire state. In 2023, 623 died by June.
I had the opportunity to travel to Oregon and observe the adverse consequences of Measure 110. I saw corpses strewn about the streets, individuals lawfully smoking meth and crack in public, and tent city sites where drugs are manufactured and sold that were inaccessible to law enforcement. I engaged in conversation with drug addicts. It was heartbreaking to see how high they were and how their lives had been squandered on narcotics. I witnessed all of this in the span of a few days; I can only speculate what Oregonians endure throughout the entire year.
Here’s the reality: Drug abuse ought to be a crime, but it also warrants treatment as a mental health condition. The two are not mutually exclusive.
Robbers may be treated as criminals while we continue to rehabilitate them to ensure that they never commit another robbery, just as we can treat drug addicts as criminals and ensure they have the necessary support to abstain from substance use in the future.
Call it what you will, but drug use is not a victimless offense. Everyone is affected by drug use. It affects family members who are forced to observe the decline of their loved ones because of substance use. They are affected when someone devotes all of their money to drugs as opposed to providing support for them. It affects the public who are forced to see their beautiful city transformed into a haven for drug addicts, who defile their streets and create victims from the innocent for drug money.
People are now beginning to understand that Oregon made a mistake. Legislation that would transform small-scale drug possession from a serious misdemeanor to a low-level offense punishable by up to 30 days in jail with the option to seek treatment in lieu of charges is now being sponsored by Democrats as well. This is an infinitely superior approach; however, I continue to hold the view that more stringent penalties are necessary to guarantee that individuals who engage in drug use are genuinely held accountable, as opposed to receiving a mere slap on the wrist.
Oregon is currently facing a pivotal moment: the decision of whether to eliminate drug use from the streets and safeguard the lives of Oregon families, or to continue down the path of not enforcing their liberal policies, which have resulted in numerous fatalities and the destruction of public accommodations. If Oregon wishes to save itself, it must make the right choice.