Why did Oregon recriminalize drug possession?

Oregon's experiment with drug decriminalization is over. Gov. Tina Kotek (D) on Monday approved a new law that recriminalizes the possession of small amounts of "hard drugs" — but also "expands funding for substance abuse treatment," Oregon Public Broadcasting said. The measure comes four years after Beaver State voters backed a ballot measure to end arrests for people found possessing cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine in amounts meant for personal use. 

That 2020 vote was "celebrated as a groundbreaking step toward a compassionate approach to substance use disorders," said The Guardian. But Oregonians now say that step coincided with a "spiraling drug use" that accompanied an "epidemic of cheap, widely available" fentanyl, a rise in homelessness and a shocking increase in overdose deaths. The state saw nearly 1,000 opiate overdose fatalities in 2022. "Oregon was a leader in this space," Haven Wheelock, a harm-reduction advocate, said of recriminalization. "It will set us back."

Others see a different lesson, NBC News said. "Combatting a problem by decriminalizing the problem is bad policy," Oregon Senate Republicans said in a statement. Opponents of the new law, though, worry that it will do little to put a dent in addiction problems in the state. And they lament what might have been. "We were too progressive," said one outreach worker. "Society wasn't ready for it."

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Failure? Or misunderstood? 

"No, Oregon's drug decriminalization law was not a failure," Robert Gebelhoff said at The Washington Post. Yes, the law was "seriously flawed." But there's "no evidence" the law created Oregon's current drug problem — the state has "fared no worse in terms of overdose deaths in recent years than similar states." The more likely culprit for those deaths: "The pandemic and the rise of fentanyl." Returning to the days of jailing Oregonians won't help. "Research consistently shows that people are at higher risk of overdose after incarceration."

Decriminalization has been an "unquestionable failure," Kevin Sabet said at Newsweek. It resulted in "more overdose deaths, crime, and public drug use." Officials were so overwhelmed by the problems that they declared a state of emergency in downtown Portland in January. None of this should have been a surprise, and it explains why Oregonians soured on the experiment so quickly. "When our laws send a message that drugs are not of public concern, what did we think would happen?" 

Did Oregon give up too soon?  Decriminalization advocates point to Portugal, Politico said, which has seen a 75% drop in drug deaths after adopting a similar strategy in 2001. That success "wasn't achieved overnight or even in three years," those advocates say. Portugal had something that Oregon didn't: An "expansive and trusted public health network" with experience in addiction treatment. "These things take time," said one Portuguese official. That's time Oregon no longer has.

'The war on drugs didn't work'

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler backed the new law, The New York Times said, but he isn't interested in a full-blown return to the old ways. "The war on drugs didn't work," he said. While it is "necessary" to give law enforcement the tools to deal with drug problems, officials must also do the "hard work to build the behavioral health infrastructure that was lacking." The biggest problem with the decriminalization law was a failure to have those support services in place, Wheeler said. "The treatment infrastructure has to be in place first."

That may happen under the new law. It will put $211 million into new programs, Oregon Capital Chronicle said, including "new and expanded residential treatment facilities, recovery houses" and other efforts to treat drug addiction. Arrests for drug possession will return, but they won't be the only tool in the state's toolbox. The new law, Gov. Tina Kotek said, "represents a package that encourages treatment first, while balancing the need for accountability."