Oregon reverses drug decriminalization

[Belsnickel]

(03-03-2024, 07:15 PM)KillerGoose Wrote: I know very little about how Oregon handled it but I have seen Oregon residents saying that they never actually fully committed to it. Apparently, Oregon had committed to building 100 additional rehab centers but only one was constructed. They attempted to follow in the steps of Portugal, who decriminalized drugs to massive success but they also had all of the infrastructure to support it. Plenty of rehab centers, social workers and the whole nine yards.

Also, as a clarification because I have ran into this a lot. Drugs were not legal in Oregon, nor are they legal in Portugal. The term refers to reduced penalties I.E. no prison time for possession of drugs. I generally support the idea if it can have enough support to be fully implemented.

So, this is one of the biggest things to keep in mind with this. When Oregon voters decriminalized low levels of drug possession, the intention was for the effort to push resources towards treatment. However, three years later, Oregon ranks last in the nation with regards to access to drug treatment. Even with that, they are better than average in the nation when it comes to overdose deaths while states with more strict drug laws rank much higher.

This new law is still not a complete reversal, though. It will allow officials to confiscate the drugs and it also allows sentencing to drug treatment rather than imprisonment. In a sense, the new law will allow officials to make people seek treatment rather than just handing them information and hoping they go. Of course, that does no good if they don't put the resources into it.