Oregon Defies War On Drugs With Sweeping Decriminalization

In a pioneering move, the state of Oregon passed legislation to decriminalize all drugs that went into effect Monday 1st February, 2021. In a massive blow to the War on Drugs, ballot Measure 110 will decriminalize small quantities of LSD, heroine, oxycodone, methamphetamine, and other substances.

Rather than arresting those found in possession of these substances, officers are now required to issue a $100 fine. Recipients are then given a choice — pay the fine or attend a health assessment that could open the doorway to addiction counseling.

The ballot measure — passed by a large majority of voters last November — seeks to replace incarceration with rehabilitation. It recognizes the vulnerability of many drugs users, and that addiction far surpasses dependency on a particular substance.

A quote from physician and addiction expert Gabor Maté sums up the true state of the condition: “..addiction is a response to life experience, not simply to a drug.”

Drug Policy Alliance executive director Kassandra Frederique, who helped lead the charge on this change of policy, stated, “Today, the first domino of our cruel and inhumane war on drugs has fallen, setting off what we expect to be a cascade of other efforts centering health over criminalization.”