Why Vote Yes to Decriminalize Drugs in Oregon: Measure 110
Earlier this summer, my bike was stolen from the bicycle storage room in my building. The lock on the door was snapped with a crowbar, along with the lock that attached my bike to the wall-mounted stand. Because I had my bike registered with the local Portland bike task force, who had multiple successful reports on Nextdoor, I knew I had a decent shot at getting it back.
And I wanted it back! I mean look at this thing. Matte black, red accents. Low handlebars. We’re attached at the hip.
Within a week, I got a call from Portland Police Bureau saying they had found my bike. I was stoked! When the two officers arrived to my home with it, I had an opportunity to talk to them about the larger problem of bike theft in Portland.
The officers - two tall, huge guys, Oregon natives with crew cuts and eyes hidden under their sunglasses - told me my bike was recovered from an encampment not too far from where I lived, a place known for stolen bike teardown and selling among houseless residents. They said the person who had it has been arrested many times for bike theft. With jails packed to the brim and difficulty collecting evidence, cases for petty theft like this are largely dropped. In the lot where my bike was recovered, the task force typically finds bike frames torn apart and sold for material. “A bike like this will get you $10 on the street, quick, and that’s a big hit of meth for these guys,” one of the officers added, his tone laden with superiority and disgust.
“What are we doing about the addiction problem?” I asked.
The same officer shifted from one foot to another, crossing his arms over his chest. “We give them options to get help and they won’t take it. They still choose the juicy carrot dangling in front of their face.”
I imagined what the alternatives to the juicy carrot looked like to someone living with enough desperation to sell a $500 bike for $10.
This conversation involving members of my neighborhood highlighted some of the major issues that my community is facing: houselessness, gentrification, drug abuse, theft, joblessness, and how these operate in a complex web when people’s basic needs are not met. We’re an ecosystem and the shadow of drug addiction & abuse touches everyone.
Oregon, like every state in the US, currently treats drug use as a criminal problem. 8,881 Oregonians were arrested last year for simple drug possession, which is about one arrest per hour. That’s a conservative estimate (source). 6,000 people are currently in Oregon’s jails for drug arrests.
But with 1 in 10 Oregonians having a substance use disorder, 1 to 2 Oregonians dying of drug overdoses every day, and Oregon ranking nearly last of all states in access to basic drug treatment, this is a massive public health crisis.
People in our communities struggling with addiction and all the compounding struggles attached to it, like poverty, health problems, and violence, deserve to be met with professionals trained to treat it for what it is: a mental health issue and a trauma response. When treated as a criminal punishment, drug use and drug users become further stigmatized because those with a criminal record are prevented from getting housing, jobs, student loans, professional licenses and more. Sometimes for their entire lives.
What is Measure 110?
Measure 110 on the Oregon ballot this November has the potential to transform the current approach to drug treatment and recovery. The aim is to remove criminal penalties for low-level possessions of drugs (currently classified as misdemeanors) and replace them with a fine. The fine can be waived if the person receiving them is assessed at an Addiction Recovery Center. During this assessment, people with drug addictions will be connected to appropriate treatment and recovery services.
Measure 110 aims to increase the amount of services, in terms of treatment, peer support/recovery, housing, and harm reduction. It will not put existing treatment centers out of business, but rather act to expand already established services, especially to rural parts of the state.
How is it funded?
Measure 110 would be fully funded by excess marijuana tax revenue. Of the $90 million in excess taxes, $45 million would be directed to drug addiction treatment services, including harm reduction and housing. The other $45 million will continue to go where it does now: for schools, public safety and drug addiction treatment and services. By the time the measure takes effect, Oregon is expected to take in about $146 million in marijuana revenue.
Isn’t this legalizing drugs?
No. Measure 110 would replace misdemeanors for low-level possession of drugs with a fine and option to seek treatment.
Selling/distributing drugs remains illegal and these offenses remain a crime. No change is made for other crimes that may be associated with drug use, such as driving under the influence and theft.
Impact in Oregon
What can we expect to happen when low-level drug possession is no longer a criminal offense?
- The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission estimated that convictions for possession of a controlled substance would decrease by 3,679 or 90.7%.
- 95%: The percent by which racial disparities in drug arrests would decrease if Measure 110 passes. Source: Oregon Secretary of State/Criminal Justice Commission
- 94%: The percent by which drug convictions of Black and Indigenous Oregonians would decrease if Measure 110 passes. Source: Oregon Secretary of State/Criminal Justice Commission
- $35.7 million to $59.2 million per year: The amount law enforcement in Oregon would have saved in 2017 if drugs had been decriminalized, according to ECONorthwest, p. 7.
Oregon has been trailblazing the path to end the War on Drugs in America for decades. If passed, Oregon would be the first state in the nation to make such a progressive measure, paving the way for other states. For an idea of the future, we can look to Switzerland and Portugal, where this model for decriminalization is already proven to reduce arrests without increasing drug use. Research consensus here is that a shift to a health-based approach includes decriminalizing drug possession and providing treatment that is individualized, low-cost, accessible, convenient, patient-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally-responsive.
By treating people with more dignity, first we have to stop treating them like criminals. Measure 110 has the potential to reshape our legislation, health care, and public support in this direction.
Key Backers
Rarely have so many diverse professional and social justice organizations been united behind a measure:
- American College of Physicians
- Oregon Nurses Association
- SEIU Local 503
- ACLU
- Oregon Food Bank
- Planned Parenthood
- NAACP Portland/Eugene
- Mike Schmidt, District Attorney, Multnomah County
- Coalition of Communities of Color
- Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde,
- Hacienda CDC
- Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO)
- Causa
- Centro Latino Americano
- Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN)
- Latino Network
- Rural Organizing Project
- Basic Rights Oregon
- Next Up
- Oregon Latino Health Coalition
Want to Get Involved?
Join me in organizing with Rhythm Nation, a coalition of Portland music nerds working to rally voter registration and spread awareness about 110 and other important Measures 107, 109, and 26–214 on the November ballot.
For weekly doses of personal healing through the lens of political activism, sign up for my newsletter!
