Alongside our Oregon coalition, we’re working to craft a way forward in Oregon that prioritizes incentivized treatment, utilizes the effectiveness of drug treatment courts, and invests in effective, evidence-based prevention programs that empower youth.
We need your support to continue this work.
I also wanted to share my recent op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal titled
"Oregon Makes a U-Turn on Drug Decriminalization.” This offers a critical examination of Oregon's recent experiment with drug decriminalization.
Measure 110 promised to meet people where they are, but it left them there. Addiction is a complex biobehavioral disorder that responds to carrots and sticks. The problem with Oregon’s failed approach is that there is no structure for people to get help. We will seek to change that. This month, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported, “The combined result of all the legislative efforts on Measure 110 was to leave Oregon with no carrot and no stick to steer people into treatment.”
Even though this misguided policy will soon be repealed in Oregon, drug profiteers and apologists are trying to repeat this failed approach in states like New York, Vermont, and elsewhere—we must stop them.
Please pitch in so we can continue to stand up for people with substance use disorders and protect communities and families ravaged by drugs.
