Researchers at PSU are partway through a 3-year study on Measure 110 and just released their first report. Drug decriminalization has not been popular among police.
Author: Pat Dooris, Jamie Parfitt
Published: 5:45 PM PDT June 6, 2023
Updated: 6:56 PM PDT June 6, 2023
PORTLAND, Ore. — Within the last 9 years, Oregon has tinkered three times with laws surrounding low-level drug possession, the kind aimed at drug users rather than dealers. Most members of law enforcement will say that the first two did not majorly impact the way they enforce drug crimes. The third was Measure 110, approved by voters in 2020.
For the uninitiated, Measure 110 decriminalized drug possession at user amounts. It also directed a significant amount of Oregon’s revenue from cannabis taxes toward an array of drug treatment-related programs.
According to those law enforcement officers, Measure 110 has single-handedly done a number on the justice system in Oregon communities.