One Year Later, Oregon Decriminalization Bill Making Impact

One year after Measure 110—an Oregon ballot initiative that decriminalized drug possession and provided funding to expand access to treatment services—went into effect, early data show that the bill has made a significant impact in the state.

As a result of the legislation, more than 16,000 people have been able to access services and Oregon has seen a 60% decrease in the number of individuals on drug-related charges in the first 10 months after decriminalization took effect compared with the same period a year prior, according to the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA). The alliance’s 501(c)4 advocacy arm, Drug Policy Action, led efforts to get the measure approved by Oregon voters in November 2020.

Over the past year, DPA said its implementation partner, Health Justice Recovery Alliance, has secured $302 million in funding for harm reduction, treatment, housing, and recovery services over the next 2 years. That figure includes $31.4 million approved for release by Oregon lawmakers in May 2021. Funds distributed thus far have gone toward the following initiatives:

• Grant funding for 67 harm reduction, treatment, housing, peer support, and recovery organizations in 29 counties
• Funding for 11 tribes and tribal organizations
• Services for 16,000 individuals, 60% of which engaged with harm reduction services
• Hiring of 115 staff members to provide harm reduction, treatment, housing, and recovery services
• Funding for 4 24-hour peer support and crisis phone lines

Funds have also been used to purchase 12 vehicles for mobile health and harm reduction services, 3 housing units, 10 tiny houses, more than 154,000 harm reduction supplies.

In about 6 months since receiving funding to expand its harm reduction services, the HIV Alliance, a southern Oregon community organization, said in the DPA news release that it has reversed more than 500 overdoses.

“Because these service numbers are being reported with only about 10% of the allocated funding having been distributed so far, and accounting for the time it takes for organizations to expand services once they receive the funding, it’s important to understand these early results represent only a small fraction of what we ultimately expect to see in Oregon,” Theshia Naidoo, managing director of the Drug Policy Alliance’s Department of Legal Affairs, said in a news release. 

“By reducing arrests and increasing access to services, we are ensuring that people are no longer saddled with the life-long consequences of drug arrests—such as the denial of housing, employment, public benefits and more—which have been proven to only worsen health outcomes, and instead are able to get the support they need.” 

DPA noted that since the passage of Measure 110 in Oregon, states including Washington, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New York, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Kansas, as well as Washington, DC, and the US Congress, have introduced similar legislation or launched campaigns to remove criminal penalties and expand access to services.

Reference

One year of drug decriminalization in Oregon: Early results show 16,000 people have accessed services through measure 110 funding & thousands have avoided arrest. News release. Drug Policy Alliance. February 1, 2022. Accessed February 17, 2022.