Good intentions are fine, but so far they have proven to be as insufficient in the fight against drugs as the war on drug trafficking.
It was November 2020 when Oregon, a state polarized between progressivism and a very bellicose extreme right in the literal sense, launched an experiment that was described as historic. The “drug decriminalization and addiction treatment” initiative, known as measure 110, received the support of 58% of voters. This made Oregon the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of prohibited substances, including heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and others.
It also meant channeling hundreds of millions of dollars from cannabis industry taxes into addiction treatment, social support, housing and pain relief for all those hooked, preventing overdoses and facilitating – them another vital perspective.
The main objective of this law, which entered into force in February 2021, was “to force a change in attitude towards people who use drugs and in the way they are treated”, Tera Hurst emphasized at the time , director of the Health Justice Recovery Alliance.
If there was anything that inspired Measure 110, it was a sense of desperation, in which addicts swelled the ranks of the homeless.
The drug war, which has been going on for decades, was and is a resounding failure, while the police solution does not lead to healing. In 2020, Oregon had the highest rate of drug addiction in the US and, in turn, was virtually dead last in treatment. There was a flood of fentanyl, a deadly drug. There had been a nearly 70% increase in overdose deaths and it was still rising.
This was the context for implementing a law that prioritized healing over punishment, creating a new model. It offered, outside the judicial system, a voluntary solution, without coercion.
Three years after its implementation began, Democratic Governor Tina Kotek signed a regulation a few days ago that restores criminal prosecutions and prison sentences for possession. Legislators overwhelmingly voted for bill 4002, which repeals the re-implementation of the Penal Code.
“We were too progressive and society is not ready for that,” said Jovannis Velez, of the organization Recovery Works Northwest.
This point was reached after an avalanche of overdose deaths. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that Oregon had a 61% increase in drug-related deaths in the first two years of the regulation. The national average was 13%.
Unintentional deaths from opioids rose in that state from 280 in 2019 to 956 in 2022, according to state health officials. A study published in the Journal of Health Economics concluded that Measure 110 was responsible for 182 additional overdose deaths, just considering 2021.
Until this setback, the police could issue a $100 fine for the consumption of these substances in public spaces, less than for skipping a traffic light, critics argued. The citations for these cases did not apply if the patient called a hotline and requested an appointment for treatment. However, more than 95% ignored the fines because there was no penalty if non-payment occurred.
A state audit noted that there were 119 calls to that hotline last year, which, given the cost of the service, each came out to $7,000.
The reversion was widely supported by official officials and by many polls. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler (former Republican-turned-Democrat) was one of the most vocal about the review.
In this period, based on his arguments, he has had to deal with the exponential increase of homeless people, turbulent protests in the streets, an exodus of businesses from the city center, a record number of homicides, the rapid expansion of fentanyl and a growing number of fatal overdoses.
Under the new regulation, still far from the severity of another era, the possession of small amounts will be a crime, punishable by up to six months in prison. In addition, treatment will continue to be offered as an alternative to punishment.
The most progressive sectors maintain their support for decriminalization. They claim that an experiment of this importance requires time, and more so when, according to them, there has been strong sabotage from certain sectors. They believe that a great opportunity to help addicts is being given up.
“Drug decriminalization reduced the pain of criminalization; the leaders of Oregon, no,” stressed Kassandra Frederique, attorney and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “Their decades of underfunding housing, addiction services and healthcare are to blame for the suffering we see on the streets of the state,” he added.
Other voices said that rejecting Measure 110 ignores why people are addicted and what it takes to reverse the crisis. And they claimed that the repression has been a dead end.
