“When Gil Kerlikowske, my then-boss and the Obama administration’s newly minted drug czar, announced an end to the war on drugs in May 2009, U.S. drug policy took a more humanitarian, public health-centered approach. Stigmatizing drug users was counterproductive, we reasoned, blocking paths to recovery. At the same time, we were careful not to normalize or legalize drugs. We recognized that making drugs more accessible would be a disaster. It was a balancing act.
Oregon threw that out the window in 2020 when, encouraged by deep-pocketed interest groups, voters approved a ballot measure that decriminalized the possession of small amounts of hard drugs including heroin, fentanyl and cocaine, and removed any incentive for treatment. Now, in an about-face, the state is poised to reverse this laissez-faire drug policy with a vengeance. Oregon’s liberal governor, Tina Kotek, is expected imminently to sign bipartisan legislation repealing Measure 110, the ill-conceived ballot initiative.
Oregon’s experiment was a disaster. The state gave people found in possession of illegal drugs a few choices: appear in court and plead not guilty; pay a fine of $100; ask the court to reduce your fine; or simply call a health-assessment hotline to have the penalty waived. But if someone took none of these actions, there was no consequence. Measure 110 essentially made drug use a penalty-free behavior. Open-air drug dealing and use became the norm, frustrating local officials including Portland’s mayor, as there was little anyone could do. Oregon in 2021-22 had the highest rate of residents reporting past-month use of illicit drugs—not including marijuana—of any state in the U.S., though it came second if you count the District of Columbia.”
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