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Well, the experiment ended last year. After the citizens voted to decriminalize all drugs (measure 110 with 58% of the vote) in Portland in 2020, overdoses skyrocketed, homelessness increased as well as crime, leading officials to walk back their and voters’ decision. It seemingly worked for Portugal, but as I, and many others predicted, it did not work in Portland. Why?
What they did: after years trending towards decriminalizing drugs with lesser penalties and weak laws, Portland put it to voters, who decided it was time to give this a try. Police became powerless to do anything about drug users exchanging what would have been an arrest or a ticket for a pamphlet with a phone number for help that cost lots of money to staff, yet yielded laughable results with less than 10 calls/month which when maths are applied, equaled $7k/call.
What happened: well, as predicted, crime, homelessness, and overdoses rose, however, researchers argue whether it was from the decriminaliztion of drugs or other factors. These issues are very complex and it’s difficult to pinpoint exact causes for any specific outcome. Drug use in public became so bad that seeing people shoot up deugs became a common site in the streets and open drug use/sale markets popped up in many areas.
Here are some snippets from various articles on Portland post 2020 when the measure was voted on and passed.
“In 2020, there were 816 overdose deaths in Oregon — about 200 more than the previous year. That number more than doubled and peaked in 2023 at 1,833 overdose deaths. ”
“In 2021, Portland experienced a significant increase in drug use, particularly in the form of methamphetamines and synthetic opioids like fentanyl. This increase was driven by a rise in overdose deaths and public drug use. ”
“In 2022, Portland experienced a significant increase in drug use, with a dramatic rise in overdose deaths and public drug use. The state of emergency declared by Governor Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was a response to the sharp increases in overdose deaths, public drug use, and crime. “
“In 2023, Portland experienced a significant increase in drug use, with a record number of drug overdoses reported. The city saw a 45% increase in overdose deaths since 2020, with more than 520 overdoses reported. “
What they did: After years of increased crime and overdoses, the governor and mayor Ted wheeler decided it was time to recriminalize drugs, however, now defendants have the option of accepting treatment in lieu of jail or fines.
What happened: drug overdoses fell in the city, in particular, drug overdose deaths. Whether this is because of the repealing of measure 110 or because of increased treatment and the availability of narcan or a mix of both, is difficult to determine. Crime and the perception of crime also fell.
“Concern about crime and drug use in the Portland area has dropped considerably over the past year, a survey commissioned by The Oregonian/OregonLive found.”
Public opinion firm DHM Research polled a representative sample of 600 voters in the Portland metro area three times in the past year
“
Kelland said he felt the explosion in addiction largely resulted from the failed implementation of Measure 110, which decriminalized drug possession in 2021. Lawmakers rolled back the measure last year, including the provision that prevented police from arresting people who had small amounts of illicit drugs. That change took effect on a rolling basis beginning in September 2024, just before the October opinion poll.
Under the measure, police were prevented from taking hard drugs away from people who possessed them in public or were using them openly. Open air drug markets flourished in downtown Portland, quickly popping back up a few blocks away from any location where police had attempted to crack down. Overdose deaths soared and metro area residents expressed dismay at the sight of people openly using meth and fentanyl on the streets.”
My thoughts: I understand the knee jerk reaction of declaring a war on drugs, but it has been largely unsuccessful, especially to use those words for any initiative to combat addiction. The “war” really ramped up in the 80s and 90s when the crack cocaine epidemic hit the streets hard. Drug use and violence that stemmed from fights to control the drug market saw murders increase to the second most violent years (early 1990s)since records started being kept, with the most violent crime rates belonging to the 1960s. Things started to turn around in 1994 after the omnibus crime bill was passed which increased sentences for violent crimes, however drug crimes remained steady. Despite all the money thrown at the situation, drug problems still persist to this day, with drug overdose deaths being a daily part of life in the US with the advent of fentanyl. Obviously, we have shown that we can’t arrest our way out of the issue and looking the other way doesn’t work either-ask Portland.
So, here are some of my suggestions and solutions that might actually work:
1. Legalize marijuana. Don’t decriminalize it-legalize it so that tax money can be used to fund treatment programs for other drugs.
2. Increase the number and availability of treatment locations/centers by using the taxes from MJ sales to fund it as well as federal assistance for opening and staffing treatment centers.
3. Similar to what Portland is now doing, offer drug addicted people a path for avoiding jail time by allowing them to instead, seek out treatment. If it is successful, you have one less addict on the street less likely to engage in criminal activity to fund their addiction. If not successful, it serves the same incapacitating effect as jail to keep the person off of the streets to commit crime.
4. Work to relocate those willing to another city to avoid the trap falls/people/and places that encourage them to use drugs.
5. Continue to target the big dealers and suppliers of drugs by working with other countries to tackle issues on the supply end while #2 increasing treatment centers seeks to decrease the demand.
#6 increase education. DARE has been proven not to work in its current state as various studies have shown, but instead, have open and honest conversations with young people discussing the ills of drug use. I often point out drug addicts to my kids so they see how bad an idea it is and tell them stories about the crazy shit I saw when I was a cop involving drug use.
7. Work to combat homelessness and mental health issues with increased funding for treatment as both are closely related to drug use as cause/effect relationships.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/28/oregon-drug-criminalization-portugal-00148872
https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-...-deaths-fell-for-the-first-time-in-years.html
What they did: after years trending towards decriminalizing drugs with lesser penalties and weak laws, Portland put it to voters, who decided it was time to give this a try. Police became powerless to do anything about drug users exchanging what would have been an arrest or a ticket for a pamphlet with a phone number for help that cost lots of money to staff, yet yielded laughable results with less than 10 calls/month which when maths are applied, equaled $7k/call.
What happened: well, as predicted, crime, homelessness, and overdoses rose, however, researchers argue whether it was from the decriminaliztion of drugs or other factors. These issues are very complex and it’s difficult to pinpoint exact causes for any specific outcome. Drug use in public became so bad that seeing people shoot up deugs became a common site in the streets and open drug use/sale markets popped up in many areas.
Here are some snippets from various articles on Portland post 2020 when the measure was voted on and passed.
“In 2020, there were 816 overdose deaths in Oregon — about 200 more than the previous year. That number more than doubled and peaked in 2023 at 1,833 overdose deaths. ”
“In 2021, Portland experienced a significant increase in drug use, particularly in the form of methamphetamines and synthetic opioids like fentanyl. This increase was driven by a rise in overdose deaths and public drug use. ”
“In 2022, Portland experienced a significant increase in drug use, with a dramatic rise in overdose deaths and public drug use. The state of emergency declared by Governor Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler was a response to the sharp increases in overdose deaths, public drug use, and crime. “
“In 2023, Portland experienced a significant increase in drug use, with a record number of drug overdoses reported. The city saw a 45% increase in overdose deaths since 2020, with more than 520 overdoses reported. “
What they did: After years of increased crime and overdoses, the governor and mayor Ted wheeler decided it was time to recriminalize drugs, however, now defendants have the option of accepting treatment in lieu of jail or fines.
What happened: drug overdoses fell in the city, in particular, drug overdose deaths. Whether this is because of the repealing of measure 110 or because of increased treatment and the availability of narcan or a mix of both, is difficult to determine. Crime and the perception of crime also fell.
“Concern about crime and drug use in the Portland area has dropped considerably over the past year, a survey commissioned by The Oregonian/OregonLive found.”
Public opinion firm DHM Research polled a representative sample of 600 voters in the Portland metro area three times in the past year
“
Kelland said he felt the explosion in addiction largely resulted from the failed implementation of Measure 110, which decriminalized drug possession in 2021. Lawmakers rolled back the measure last year, including the provision that prevented police from arresting people who had small amounts of illicit drugs. That change took effect on a rolling basis beginning in September 2024, just before the October opinion poll.
Under the measure, police were prevented from taking hard drugs away from people who possessed them in public or were using them openly. Open air drug markets flourished in downtown Portland, quickly popping back up a few blocks away from any location where police had attempted to crack down. Overdose deaths soared and metro area residents expressed dismay at the sight of people openly using meth and fentanyl on the streets.”
My thoughts: I understand the knee jerk reaction of declaring a war on drugs, but it has been largely unsuccessful, especially to use those words for any initiative to combat addiction. The “war” really ramped up in the 80s and 90s when the crack cocaine epidemic hit the streets hard. Drug use and violence that stemmed from fights to control the drug market saw murders increase to the second most violent years (early 1990s)since records started being kept, with the most violent crime rates belonging to the 1960s. Things started to turn around in 1994 after the omnibus crime bill was passed which increased sentences for violent crimes, however drug crimes remained steady. Despite all the money thrown at the situation, drug problems still persist to this day, with drug overdose deaths being a daily part of life in the US with the advent of fentanyl. Obviously, we have shown that we can’t arrest our way out of the issue and looking the other way doesn’t work either-ask Portland.
So, here are some of my suggestions and solutions that might actually work:
1. Legalize marijuana. Don’t decriminalize it-legalize it so that tax money can be used to fund treatment programs for other drugs.
2. Increase the number and availability of treatment locations/centers by using the taxes from MJ sales to fund it as well as federal assistance for opening and staffing treatment centers.
3. Similar to what Portland is now doing, offer drug addicted people a path for avoiding jail time by allowing them to instead, seek out treatment. If it is successful, you have one less addict on the street less likely to engage in criminal activity to fund their addiction. If not successful, it serves the same incapacitating effect as jail to keep the person off of the streets to commit crime.
4. Work to relocate those willing to another city to avoid the trap falls/people/and places that encourage them to use drugs.
5. Continue to target the big dealers and suppliers of drugs by working with other countries to tackle issues on the supply end while #2 increasing treatment centers seeks to decrease the demand.
#6 increase education. DARE has been proven not to work in its current state as various studies have shown, but instead, have open and honest conversations with young people discussing the ills of drug use. I often point out drug addicts to my kids so they see how bad an idea it is and tell them stories about the crazy shit I saw when I was a cop involving drug use.
7. Work to combat homelessness and mental health issues with increased funding for treatment as both are closely related to drug use as cause/effect relationships.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/28/oregon-drug-criminalization-portugal-00148872
https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-...-deaths-fell-for-the-first-time-in-years.html
