The state of Oregon has conceded that its four-year experiment with the legalization of drugs was a failure. Gov Tina Kotek (D) signed into law a bill that recriminalizes personal use drug possession.
Democrat Governor Tina Kotek recriminalizes drug possession, despite voter referendum after overdose deaths and crime surge in Oregon@TinaKotek #Oregonhttps://t.co/dacL53zONw
— Linda Marie Lovison (@lilo623) April 3, 2024
A 2020 ballot initiative — known as Measure 110 —decriminalized possession of any drug, even the deadly variety such as fentanyl. The condition was that the quantities possessed were not dealer-level amounts.
Civil fines of $100 replaced criminal penalties in Measure 110, and even those fines could be dismissed if the offender simply called an addiction hotline. In a striking testament to the law’s ineffectiveness, only 1% of those hit with the fines even made the phone call.
While Measure 110 passed with 58% of the vote in 2020, a slightly greater majority of 63% now believes it was a bad idea, according to a recent survey.
In the past year, the Beaver State has seen 1250 deaths from drug overdoses, as compared to 250 in 2019, the year before Measure 110 took effect.
Users were emboldened to openly do drugs in public places and in broad daylight. The capital city of Portland has epitomized this depravity.
Even leftist Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler (D) — who has given blessing to Antifa and Black Lives Matter chaos in his city — favors the repeal of Measure 110. Ironically, he stated his reason in a New York Times piece as: “People are exhausted from feeling like they’re under siege. They want order restored to their environment.”
The restored criminal penalties for personal use drug possession replace the $100 civil fine with a misdemeanor charge and a possible six months in prison. The new law also contains provisions to encourage police to send offenders to treatment programs as an alternative to incarceration.
The usual Democrat suspects in the heavily blue state opposed the repeal. They predictably spun the narrative into a racial one, claiming that minorities would be disproportionately arrested and that “social inequalities” would be exacerbated.
However, the undeniable degradation of communities has sent even chaos-mongering Democrats running for political cover and favoring the repeal.
Oregon’s House Minority Leader Jeff Helfrich (R) pointed out that Republican leadership and unity forced the Democratic majority to restore the criminal penalties.
