The Daily on Drug Failure
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The Daily on Drug Failure
Blowback on Oregon's Experiment in Decriminalizing Possession.
Oregon has now returned to the the old drug policy of criminal punishment for possession. This discussion is still playing out, here is the New York Times podcast The Daily on why the attempt at a Portuguese-style decriminalization was so unpopular.
Oregon Decriminalized Drugs. Voters Now Regret It.
The Daily
In 2020, motivated to try a different way to combat drug use, Oregon voted to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of hard drugs including fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine. Things didn’t turn out as planned. Mike Baker, a national reporter for The Times, explains what went wrong. Guest: Mike Baker, a national reporter for The New York Times.
Listen on Apple Podcasts:
I think the Daily summed it up pretty well. Did you think it was a fair account? Perhaps criminalization shouldn't be the consequences, but I agree that Portland should have put the wrap around services in place before decriminalization, to decrease the prevalence of addiction to begin with and to treat it when it occurred. The other issue I see, is that it can't be done state-by-state. You keep mentioning Portugal, which has many, many states participating, correct? I feel like Portland provided an open invitation to everyone and anyone in other states to come on over; further taxing the limited resources we do have. Just like homelessness, it's something that needs to be dealt with more globally. It's sad that we didn't get much of this right when we had the opportunity. Without the infrastructure, resources, and emphasis on prevention we're back to dealing with the consequences; same old, same old.