Democrat-controlled cities and states always have the most liberal policies. But they always fail.
And now, a shocking development sent one Democrat state into lockdown.
Legislators in Oregon decided on Friday to criminalize minor drug possession as a misdemeanor after the state’s failed attempts at decriminalization.
Voters in Oregon approved Ballot Measure 110 in November 2020, decriminalizing the personal possession of drugs like heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and LSD.
As the first state in the union to approve such a measure, Oregon changed the criminal misdemeanor of possessing hard drugs to a Class E misdemeanor, which carries a citation of up to $100 rather than criminal penalties.
Decriminalization efforts by the state led to a massive increase in overdose deaths and extensive drug use outdoors.
#BREAKING: A man overdosed right in front of me as I was walking the streets of downtown Portland.
He was administered narcan and going in and out of consciousness. I waited until police arrived. pic.twitter.com/tegYXDTk9r
— Katie Daviscourt 🇺🇸 (@KatieDaviscourt) August 7, 2023
Legislators in Oregon celebrated the bill as a response to addiction, but the decriminalization showed otherwise and was received as a painful lesson.
The Oregon Senate decided on Friday to reinstate the misdemeanor criminal offense of using hard drugs, voting 21–8 in favor of the move.
By a vote of 51 to 7, the Oregon House of Representatives decided on Thursday to reverse the decriminalization policy.
Now, the bill is on the desk of Democratic Governor Tina Kotek, awaiting her signature.
Opioids and methamphetamine laced with fentanyl have caused the biggest increase in overdose deaths, and these drugs have proliferated in Democratic-run cities all over the country.
The decriminalization attempt in Oregon was a complete failure, according to Brandon del Pozo, a former police officer and drug policy researcher at Brown University, who spoke with the Washington Post.
“Unfortunately, in the history of drug policy, Oregon’s Measure 110 will go down in the lessons learned — rather than the lasting innovations — category,” he said.
When the bill passed, its supporters argued that drug use and possession should be treated like medical conditions rather than crimes.
Yet, after the law went into effect in February 2021, overdoses increased by 700% and overdose deaths increased by 120% in the first year.
“The Oregon ballot initiative was presented to the public as pro-treatment but it has been a complete failure in that regard,” said Keith Humphreys, an addiction researcher for the Associated Press.
Measure 110 eliminated the criminal penalties related to having “lesser” amounts of illegal substances, such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
Police issued $100 citations to drug users instead of taking suspects to prison.
By enrolling in a treatment center or by contacting a state-funded hotline, the citations may be avoided.
But after receiving citations, very few people called the hotline for mental health services.
Overall, the entire push by Oregon was a complete disaster and once again exposed the Radical Left’s disregard for American lives.
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