Oregon becomes the first U.S. state to decriminalize possession of all hard drugs on Monday.
An Oregon measure decriminalizes hard drug possession
Police in Oregon can no longer arrest people possessing small amounts of methamphetamine, LSD, heroin, oxycodone, and other hard drugs starting today, under a ballot measure passed in November. Those who would be found possessing hard drugs would be penalized up to $100 or have a health assessment leading to addiction counseling.
According to Daily Mail, supporters of the ballot measure decriminalizing hard drugs hailed it as a revolutionary act for the U.S.
Simultaneously, a vocal minority of opponents, including 24 district attorneys, believe the measure is reckless and could increase drug use. Instead of arresting those with personal-use amounts of drugs found by law enforcement, they would face a civil citation and not a criminal citation, as per the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), spearheading the initiative.
Read also: Pregnant Women With COVID-19 Can Provide Their Babies With Antibodies, Study Reveals
DPA executive director Kassandra Frederique said the first effect of the cruel, inhumane war on drugs has fallen, setting off the expected cascade of other efforts centering health against criminalization.
The treatment needs to be prioritized, and criminalizing drug possession is not effective, Ballot Measure 110's backers said.
Having a criminal record makes it hard for people to find housing and jobs aside from facing the prospect of being locked up, haunting a person for a lifetime.
Under the new system, addiction recovery centers will need to triage the acute needs of people who use drugs. The department will assess and address any on-going needs of drug users through intensive case management and linkage to services and care.
Oregon's legalized marijuana industry tax revenue will provide the millions of dollars needed to fund addiction recovery centers, which diverts some funds from other programs and entities already receiving it, such as schools. These other recepients of pot tax revenues say after the assessment and related treatment options,the distribution of those revenues deserve to have another look, as per the NBC News.
Read also: New York Undercounts COVID-19 Deaths in Nursing Home by 50%, Report Reveals
Oregon police can no longer arrest people who possess hard drugs
According to ABC7, Oregon police can no longer arrest people possessing small amounts of hard drugs due to the decriminalization.
Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which spearheaded the ballot initiative, said, "Today, the first domino of our cruel and inhumane war on drugs has fallen, setting off what we expect to be a cascade of other efforts centering health over criminalization."
The ballot measure capped the amount of the tax revenue that schools, the state police, cities, and counties; mental health, alcoholism, and drug services; receive at $45 million per year, while the rest go to a "Drug Treatment and Recovery Services Fund."
Marijuana tax revenues reached $133 million in the 2020 fiscal year, a 30 percent increase over the previous year. Meanwhile, in 2016, marijuana tax revenue peaked at a 545 percent increase when pot taxes started being collected from legal, registered recreational enterprises around the state.
