Oregon decriminalized possession of small amounts of drugs. Fatal ODs didn’t skyrocket.
Decriminalizing drug possession doesn’t lead to more fatal overdoses… a new study by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that recent drug decriminalization laws in Oregon and Washington did not lead to changes in fatal drug overdose rates.
Initial data from the first post-Measure 110 year, however, tell a different story. According to a paper out Sept. 27 [2023] from researchers at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine, there is no evidence that Measure 110 was associated with any change in fatal drug overdose rates in Oregon. The same is true of a since-abandoned decriminalization program in adjacent Washington State… found no “statistical significance” in the death rates from either state after the new drug policies were implemented. [The Oregon Health Justice Recovery Alliance released a statement shortly after the trip highlighting multiple lessons it said Oregon should take from Portugal: that decriminalization “remains the right thing to do” but that Measure 110 “didn’t go far enough in creating a comprehensive healthcare approach to addiction.” …lawmakers and others on the trip said they were intrigued by some of what they saw: a better prevention strategy, coordination between police and treatment providers and a focus on reducing overdose deaths… including government-sanctioned spaces where people smoke crack cocaine and inject heroin under the gaze of social workers and other professionals… 11 Republican senators and one Independent seek a special legislative session… in their letter to the governor, the senators say they want to make changes now and don’t wish to wait until the next regular session in February [2023], because “…Measure 110 has made addiction, homelessness and crime worse.”]
Original Article (US News Today & Time & KOIN):
Oregon decriminalized possession of small amounts of drugs. Fatal ODs didn’t skyrocket & Decriminalizing drug possession doesn’t lead to more fatal overdoses & Oregon, Washington drug laws not associated with fatal overdose rate: Study
Artwork Fair Use: W.carter
