The move to decriminalize hard drugs like heroin and methamphetamine in Oregon,as well as legalizing the use of psilocybin mushrooms passed by two large margins on Tuesday.
This move might just be to liberal even for the wild and liberal west. Heroin and othe rhardcore drugs are illegal for a reason. Yes it may be true that putting addicts into a jail cell is not the answer but decriminalizing the drug makes it easier to distribute and allows the network of drug dealers to reach more people.
Known as Measure 110, it will completely change how Oregon's justice system treats those who are found with personal-use amounts of the hard drugs. Measure 110 is arguably the biggest blow to the war on drugs to date.
Under the new measures, instead of going to trial and facing possible jail time, a person found with the hard drugs in their possession would have the option of paying a $100 fine or attending new “addiction recovery centers.”
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The centers would be funded by millions of dollars of tax revenue from the legalized, regulated marijuana industry in the state that was the country's first to decriminalize marijuana possession.
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It received 59% yes votes and 41% no votes, with roughly 1.9 million votes counted, according to unofficial partial results from the secretary of state.
Among those in support of the Oregon measure were the Oregon Nurses Association and the Oregon chapter of the American College of Physicians.
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Two dozen district attorneys said the measure “recklessly decriminalizes possession of the most dangerous types of drugs (and) will lead to an increase in acceptability of dangerous drugs.”
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Three other district attorneys backed the measure, including the one in Oregon's most populous county, which includes Portland.
The ballot question received a $500,000 donation from Facebook’s very own Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan, who favors a health-based approach to drug addiction.
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Oregon also passed Measure 109, legalizing the controlled therapeutic use of psilocybin mushrooms.
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A tax hike of $2 was passed in Oregon on cigarettes. This measure would increase Oregon's cigarette tax by $2 per pack, from $1.33 to $3.33, bump up the cap on cigar taxes to $1 per cigar and add a 65% tax on electronic cigarettes and vaping products, which are not currently taxed.
The funds from the tax increase would be used for public health programs including smoking prevention and cessation programs. The projected new annual revenue is about $130 million.
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