Back in 2020 during the “Summer of Love,” Oregon voters approved Measure 110, which decriminalized the possession of small quantities of hard drugs, including heroin. The measure instead proposed to direct more resources toward rehabilitation and substance abuse treatment programs. Well, three years have gone by and the trail of bodies and comatose addicts littering the streets of Portland and other cities demonstrates how well that’s worked out. So this month, the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions commissioned a poll of voters in Oregon to see how they are feeling about this policy. As it turns out, Measure 110 isn’t nearly as popular as it used to be and a lot of people want to see things return to normal. (Washington Examiner)
A majority of Oregon residents support repealing a law that decriminalized hard drugs within the state, a reversal of the position’s passage after three years.
A poll commissioned by the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions surveyed registered Oregon voters to measure public attitudes toward Measure 110, a voter-passed measure in 2020 that decriminalized the possession of hard drugs in favor of expanding addiction treatment options as funded by the state’s cannabis tax.
The poll results didn’t indicate a complete reversal in attitudes across the board, but it did produce a majority position. 56% said they would like to see Measure 110 reversed completely, while 46% said it should remain in place as it is now. Other subsets were open to repealing some portions of the measure while leaving others in place. Interestingly, 54% blamed Measure 100 for an increase in homelessness while one-half said it had made their neighborhoods less safe.
Keep in mind that Measure 110 was passed before the serious flood of fentanyl from China and Mexico started arriving. Once that happened, fentanyl was added to the list along with heroin and all the rest, further compounding the problem. And the homelessness angle should have been a given since drug addiction and overdoses are more prevalent among the homeless than the rest of the population.
Other aspects of Measure 110 that we discussed here when it was first enacted failed to pan out as well. The plan was to provide an “incentive” for people to get help by charging a $100 fine for repeat offenders, while still not locking them up. The fine could be negated if the suspect called a state hotline to help them get screened for substance abuse treatment. As predicted, almost nobody called the hotline and nearly all of the offenders ignored the fine. Imagine that. If a drug addict somehow winds up with an extra hundred bucks in their pocket, do you think they’re going to send it to the state or buy more drugs?
Meanwhile, it’s been noted that there were fewer than 200 drug overdose deaths in Portland in 2018. Last year that number rose to more than 500, largely driven by the spike in fentanyl availability. And they are currently on track to potentially break that record again in 2023. But the addicts are being left to do as they will on the streets. To be fair, they did manage to arrest and charge one drug trafficker in June after someone overdosed on their product. But that’s just one small fish in a very large sea.
With 55 percent opposing the measure, it wouldn’t pass if it were put to a vote today. But in 2020 it drew 58% support. The problem is, that someone would need to kickstart a new referendum to see if it can be repealed, but nobody seems to be doing that. And in the meantime, the bodies keep piling up. But hey… at least the jails are still mostly empty, right? And that was the point all along. Congratulations, Oregon. You voted for it and now you’re getting what you asked for good and hard.
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