After Oregon decriminalised hard drugs in 2020, drug usage and overdose rates skyrocketed, especially those involving fentanyl. Now, the state has recognised that the most liberal drug laws in the United States which many critics denounced as an “experiment,’ have failed.
The state’s Democrat Governor Tina Kotek has signed off on a bill taking effect in September that restores criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of hard drugs as an epidemic of addiction and overdoses plague the state, forcing the declaration of a state of emergency over fentanyl abuse in the biggest city of Portland.
The reinstated law stipulates that possession of small amounts of drugs, including heroin or methamphetamine, will be deemed a misdemeanour crime with offenders facing up to six months in jail. Individual treatment will be offered as an alternative option to criminal penalties.
In 2020, 58% of voters in Oregon approved a referendum named Measure 110 that reduced penalties and sought to help those struggling to get treatment. But since then the state’s fentanyl overdose rate soared by 1,530% — the highest increase in the the country. Opioid deaths in Oregon tripled between 2019 and 2022.
Critics of the ballot initiative blame it for the fentanyl crisis and the skyrocketing overdose deaths that followed. “You look at what has happened: open fentanyl, open drugs on the streets. Measure 110 is an unmitigated disaster.” said Republican state lawmaker Jeff Helfrich.
State leaders admitted there were implementation issues with the decriminalisation which led to Portland being portrayed as a city of shame. Images of people openly using drugs on streets, footpaths and in front of stores increasingly appeared on national media. They depicted surging unsheltered homelessness, turbulent street protests, an exodus of downtown businesses and record numbers of homicides — all blamed on the rapid spread of fentanyl.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler told the New York Times: “The truth is that addiction rates and overdose rates skyrocketed.” He accused the state of failing to put proper support services in place. He has battled in court to ban daytime camping and establish shelters for those without housing. He has also pushed to increase the police presence in the city to crack down on crime.
“Going forward, could this experiment happen again? I don’t think anybody will completely decriminalise the use of drugs. I wouldn’t support it, personally, but the piece about providing enough behavioral health services is critically important. And again, in this country, we haven’t done that,” Mayor Wheeler declared.
Governor Kotek vowed to continue to provide a path for drug treatment, rather than punishment and the new laws still remain some of the most liberal in the US while seeking to offer treatment as an alternative to criminal penalties. She said their success will depend on coordination between multiple layers of government on the state and local level, as well as health care providers, all of whom she described as “necessary partners”.
Oregon’s Senate Republican leader Tim Knopp declared: “Passing this law will put Oregon on a path to recovery and signifies an end to the nationwide decriminalisation movement.”
