By the Editorial Board
April 7, 2024 at 7:30 a.m. EDT

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed legislation this month to end her state’s disastrous experiment with decriminalizing hard drugs, rolling back a 2020 ballot initiative she previously supported after it contributed to a surge in overdose deaths, rising violent crime, open-air drug markets, junkies wandering through the streets of Portland with needles in their arms and the acrid smell of burning fentanyl in the air.

The plan was to end the war on drugs by removing the criminal justice system from the process, elevating a public health approach in its place that would offer voluntary treatment without any coercion. Billionaires George Soros and Mark Zuckerberg bankrolled the campaign to pass Measure 110, which they expected other states and D.C. to replicate. Instead, Oregon has provided a cautionary tale of why heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine ought to remain illegal. Read more.