Oregon Decrim 2024 – 2 Minute Summary
In November 2020 Oregon voters passed a comprehensive, drug decrim initiative 58 to 42% for personal amounts* hard drugs, over stiff opposition from the police organizations, the prosecutor’s association and the Drug Treatment Industry. Decrim signals an end to our 50 year running War on Drugs – War on the American People. Oregon voters were able to look at the Portugal experience as a guide for both ‘how to’ and the 20-year running positive results. Implementation was Feb 2021. In the first three years – Oregon enjoys an 80% + reduction in police searches and tickets written for simple possession. A fall 2022 showed that crime has Not gone up as a result of the decrim law. Most who do receive a ticket neither take care of it, nor seek treatment.
Immediate Advantages:
Improve police-community relations by reducing arrests and friction with citizens. Young people may be more likely to become an officer.
- Reduce criminal justice costs (police, prosecutor, jail, police lab time and probation) – Focus on serious, public-safety related crimes
- Remove the down-stream problems generated by a criminal arrest – employment, etc
- Enables the community to deal with drug use/abuse issues in a medical setting
- Mass incarceration has been reduced, as well as searches of cars.
*personal amount (example 2 grams of cocaine, 1 gram of heroin. 2 g of meth)
Scenario: officer finds a citizen with personal amount of an illegal drug. Officer seizes the drug and eventually puts it in the evidence room (later destroyed). The officer gives the person a ticket. The citizen can either pay a civil $100 fine or can go to a ‘Health Assessment Committee’ which would determine if the person needed treatment or not. If treatment is recommended, the citizen is given the info of where to seek treatment. In 2024 every county has a free, clinic to assist those with a drug problem which is funded by marijuana taxes.
Major funding ($300,000,000) for the Assessment Committee and services comes thru marijuana sales taxes.
This decrim has no impact on drug smuggling nor sales. No impact on drug availability. No impact on overdose.
Factoid: 1.4 million arrested in USA in 2019 for simple possession (half for marijuana, half for hard drugs). Roughly, 10 searches are needed to find one baggie of illegal drugs.
Not every user is an abuser
Supporting Information:
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This change is helping police/community relations…we strongly believe Oregon police will search even fewer vehicle going forward
