by Mara Dubois
“According to the Drug Policy Alliance, there were roughly 1.6 million arrests in 2018 for drug possession alone.” Prisons and jails all over the country are currently filled with millions of inmates that are convicted on drug charges. However, this will soon change in the state of Oregon where possession of drugs, including hard drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine has been decriminalized. The decriminalization of drugs does not mean legalizations so, although similar to their legalization of marijuana in 2015, people found in possession of drugs will still face punishment. Measure 110, which decriminalizes the possession of drugs, makes the punishment of possession a fine similar to a parking ticket rather than jail time. The new measure also, “expands access to addiction assistance and other health services, offering aid to those who need it instead of arresting and jailing people for drugs.” At first glance, measure 110 might seem like a bad idea that would encourage a wide spread use of drugs; however, it has pros and is beneficial in many ways to Oregon communities in ending the drug war.
The war on drugs has been an ongoing problem for decades and has had terrible effects on the United States population as well as nations all around the world. “In 2016 alone, an estimated 64,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses—more than the combined death tolls for Americans in the Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq Wars.” This shows how drastic the consequences of the addiction epidemic in America is and how there is a strong need for change in the future. Currently, throughout almost all of the country, people in possession of drugs are being held in jail and prison. This is slowly starting to change in certain areas. On the 2020 election ballot, Oregon voters voted in favor of decriminalizing the possession of drugs. Manufacturing and distributing drugs was not decriminalized, it was only the possession. The measure received 58% supporting votes this month.
Oregon's changes to the consequences of someone being caught in possession of drugs will be beneficial to the possessors and to the community as a whole because along with a fine, one of the new aspects of the consequences of being found in possession of drugs will be a mandatory health assessment and access to recovery centers, rather than harsh punishments of possible jail time. This is a more active approach to helping people suffering from addiction. Access to the help they need and to support programs for them to participate in is an option that will help possessors of the drugs more than the previous consequence of jail time. In addition, measure 110 will allow for the building of drug recovery centers using the money from marijuana taxes and savings from less incarceration. This will benefit the drug possessors because it will allow them to participate in an active method of helping their addiction problem rather than sitting in a jail cell with no attention or help to them and their addiction.
Although those not in support of measure 110 would argue that the decriminalization of drugs would cause a wide spread use, that is not necessarily the case. People that are addicted to hard drugs, such as the ones that would be decriminalized, are not worried about the consequences of drug possession and use. This means that they would use the drugs even if the consequence was still possible jail time and so the lesser consequence with the more active recovery approach would be more beneficial to this group of people. In addition, the decriminalization of drugs will destigmatize possession and use. Some may view this as a potential factor that would increase use, and that may be true in certain cases; however, those situations are unlikely. More likely, the users of drugs would feel better about reaching out to trusted friends or family members for help. This is because, “stigmas with drug abuse may become lessened, people may feel that substance abuse is less of a taboo. This could lead to the increase of people seeking treatment for their substance use disorder and not hiding it from friends or family.” If the use of drugs is destigmatized, the users would feel that people would not look down on them as much as if it were still criminalized. People feeling better and more comfortable reaching out is beneficial in so many ways.
In addition to the expected benefits of the new drug policy, drug decriminalization has proven to be very effective in other countries, most prominently Portugal. In 2001, Portugal decriminalized all drugs and took a more active approach to solving the drug epidemic. Oregon is mirroring elements of Portugal’s methods. Portugal provided facilities to help addicts recover and get their lives back on track. This approach has not only worked but has also caused Portugal to go from being one of the countries with the worst drug problem to a country with the most control over drug issues. In Portugal, “the drug-induced death rate has plummeted to five times lower than the E.U. average and stands at one-fiftieth of the United States.’” This is an incredible change from where they were 20 years ago and the similar method that Oregon is going to use of “treating drug addiction as a medical issue rather than a criminal problem” could have similar results.
The decriminalization of drugs in Oregon will benefit the United States and help end the war on drugs. The approach of helping addicts recover by creating drug recovery centers and mandatory health assessments will be an active and effective solution. It will be a more effective resolution than having the possessors end up in jail where they lack help or support that is crucial to their recovery. This method has proven effective in Portugal and will likely have similar results in the United States. Oregon’s decriminalization of drugs is one step that makes the United States closer to ending the drug epidemic and the war on drugs.