SALEM, Ore. Oregon police can no longer arrest anyone for possession of small amounts of heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, oxycodone and other drugs because a ballot box measure that decriminalized it went into effect Monday.
Instead, those in possession will receive a $ 100 fine or a health assessment that could lead to addiction. Supporters of the ballot, which passed the voters in Oregon by a wide margin, saw it as a revolutionary step for the United States.
“Today, the first domino of our brutal and inhuman war on drugs has fallen, which is expected to be a cascade of other efforts that put health at the forefront of criminalization,” said Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance , said. voting initiative.
Supporters of ballot 110 said treatment should be the priority and that criminalizing drug possession does not work. Besides being locked up in prison, it is difficult to find housing and employment and it can haunt someone for life.
Two dozen district attorneys opposed the measure, saying it was reckless and would lead to an increase in the acceptability of dangerous drugs.
Instead of being arrested, those found by law enforcement officers using quantities of drugs in person will face a civil citation, “like a traffic ticket,” and not a criminal citation, Matt says. Sutton, spokesman for the Drug Policy Alliance.
Under the new system, addiction treatment centers will have the task of “investigating and evaluating and addressing the acute needs of people who use drugs, there is a thorough, intensive case management and connection with care and services.”
The recovery centers are funded by millions of dollars in tax revenue from Oregon’s legal marijuana industry. It diverts some funds from other programs and entities that are already receiving them, such as schools.
The ballot box limited the amount of pot tax revenue that schools limit. mental health alcoholism and drug services; the state police; and cities and counties receive $ 45 million annually, and the rest goes to a “Medicine Treatment and Recovery Fund.”
The fund will be abundant in money if the sales trend for marijuana continues as expected.
In the fiscal year 2020, marijuana tax revenue peaked at $ 133 million, a 30% increase over the previous year and a 545% increase in 2016, when pot tax from legitimate, registered marijuana businesses across the state.
The other recipients of pot tax income now say that, after assessment and related treatment options have been introduced, the distribution of income deserves a new look. A leading lawmaker agrees.
“In the future, as Oregon’s treatment programs receive full funding, the state will need to evaluate what other services will benefit from our ever-growing marijuana tax revenue,” Oregon Education Association president John Larson said in an email.
Larson said a “balanced budget approach” would support communities and students. The trade union OEA represents about 44 000 educators.
State Senator Floyd Prozanski, chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and Ballot Measure 110 Implementation, said he expects Oregon’s tax revenue for cannabis to increase exponentially if recreational marijuana is legalized in the United States. He expects this to happen within four years.
This will make the Drug Treatment and Recovery Fund ‘oversaturated with revenue’ because consumers outside the country legally buy the powerful marijuana from Oregon, Prozanski said in a telephone interview.
“It would be foolish for us as legislators to think that the electorate wants us to invest hundreds of hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in a program that would have a gold standard at that point,” I would think. addiction services, the Democrat said.
But Sutton noted that the fund, in addition to traditional treatment services, will also be spent on housing and work assistance to provide long-term stability for people struggling with addiction.
“I can not imagine the fund becoming oversaturated any time soon,” Sutton said.
Oregon is a pioneer in the liberalization of drug laws. It was the first state, in 1973, to decriminalize the possession of marijuana. In 2014, Oregon voters passed a ballot that legalizes the use of marijuana for recreation. But Sutton said there are no plans to pursue legalization and a regulated market for hard drugs in Oregon.
Addiction centers for addiction must be available by October 1st. One center must be established within each existing coordinated service area for care organizations.
It is estimated that approximately 3,700 fewer Oregonians per year will be convicted of the offense or misconduct of controlled drugs, according to estimates by the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. The measure is also likely to lead to a significant reduction in racial and ethnic differences in convictions and arrests.
Drugs specified by the criterion include LSD, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, methadone, oxycodone and MDMA – commonly known as ecstasy.
Although this approach is new in the United States, several countries, including Portugal, the Netherlands and Switzerland, have already decriminalized the possession of small quantities of hard drugs, according to the United Nations.
Portugal’s decriminalization in 2000 did not result in an increase in drug use. Drug deaths have declined as the number of people treated for drug addiction in the country rose by 20% from 2001 to 2008 and then stabilized, Portuguese officials said.