{"id":11536,"date":"2020-11-06T11:36:27","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T11:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.veriheal.com\/blog\/?p=11536"},"modified":"2023-10-17T12:50:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-17T16:50:59","slug":"oregon-is-the-first-state-to-boldly-contest-the-war-on-drugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.veriheal.com\/blog\/oregon-is-the-first-state-to-boldly-contest-the-war-on-drugs\/","title":{"rendered":"Oregon is the First State to Boldly Contest the War on Drugs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oregon is all the buzz when it comes to the conversation of drugs and their legalization. The 2020 election saw Oregon put ALL drug legalization on its 2020 ballet. Measure 110 passed with flying colors making Oregon the first state in America to decriminalize the minor personal possession of ALL drugs. Drugs like oxycodone, meth, cocaine, heroin, and others. A “Yes on Measure 110” campaign that helped bring awareness to this effort was funded by the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group based out of New York.<\/p>\n

Estimates suggest that the campaign for “Yes on Measure 110” spent around $3.5 million to gather signatures that qualified Measure 110 for the ballot. Support for this measure came from many different sources and contributors like Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, who contributed $500K via the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.<\/p>\n

Measure 110 also received support from the Oregon Academy of Family Physicians, the Oregon Nurses Association, the Oregon Chapter of the American College of Physicians, the Latino Network, Unite Oregon, and the NAACP of Portland in addition to others. As you can see, Measure 110 has the support of some very creditable organizations and groups. The American College of Physicians Oregon chapters governor, Dr. Marianne Parshley, was quoted saying,\u00a0\u201cWe are endorsing measure 110 because we have seen what happens to families and patients in the wake of the opioid epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not Everyone Was High on the Idea of Decriminalizing All Drugs<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Not everyone in Oregon was supportive of Measure 110. It received harsh criticism and strong opposition from Oregon\u2019s District Attorney\u2019s Association, the Oregon Council on Behavioral Health, and Oregon Recovers. Oregon\u2019s District Attorney\u2019s Association said, \u201cThis measure will tie the hands of law enforcement and prosecutors everywhere and lead to disastrous results for our communities.\u201d Oregon Recovers director Mike Marshall says that \u201cMeasure 110 doesn\u2019t have any goals in it.\u201d He goes on to ask the question, \u201cHow many people are going to actually be offered treatment?\u201d<\/p>\n

In Mike Marshall’s opinion, the state should have taken the approach of putting new taxes on alcohol. Mike must forget that this draconian approach to governing doesn\u2019t work and often leads to greater problems like those seen in the defunct state of Kansas. Kansas legalized gambling and put higher taxes on alcohol and tobacco in a last-ditch effort to make up for the state’s gross mismanagement of funds. Their results have been far from positive.<\/p>\n

A Quick Breakdown of Measure 110:<\/strong><\/h2>\n