An early read on drug policy reform comes from Willamette Week, where they anticipate a deep retrenchment on Measure 110. The Oregon legislature is only meeting this year on a very short session, and is feeling a lot of heat from the public, which has “buyer’s remorse” for endorsing decriminalization of all drugs back in 2020. Many in the legislature are pushing for full repeal.
There’s a lot to regret: open-air drug use is a blight on the state, overdoses are climbing, and few addicts seem to get the help they need.
But hold on a minute. Harm reduction, outreach teams, and investing in health care actually gets people off the street and into better lives. (See: Portugal.) Going back to jailing them won’t solve anything. We cannot arrest our way out of this crisis.
Unfortunately, it looks like a major recriminalization is going to pass. State Republicans are quoted calling for “a hammer” to “send people to jail.” The GOP wants heavy repercussions for drug use—making it a Class A felony with up to a year in jail. Democrats came back with an opening proposal that already concedes the argument. They proposed a misdemeanor 30-day limit, but agreed to recriminalize drugs. Measure 110 may be over.
Democrats did introduce a policy called “Deflection,” which sounds a lot like the the Portuguese idea of “Dissuasion.” Namely, as an alternative to jail, addicts should be deflected into pathways involving assessment and connection to treatment services.
This is needed. Measure 110s biggest failure was the referral system—addicts were given a phone number that few called and that even fewer used to enter programs. Oregon put the horse before the cart, decriminalizing before social services were in place and health care facilities were big enough to meet the need. Deflection would put a Portuguese-style incentive to work here.
Unfortunately, given the political backlash, we will probably lose this first-in-the-nation opportunity to actually repair our cities and state.
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