Oregonians have second thoughts about their votes, leading to the “relaxing” drug possession laws. Like many leftwing idealized positions, the outcome was not what they imagined.
Referendum Measure 110, which aims to steer addicts away from prison and into treatment clinics as a more comprehensive approach to managing drug addiction, was approved by Oregon voters in November 2020.
According to a poll conducted by DHM Research and published in May, most Oregon citizens want to partially overturn that referendum which legalized small amounts of narcotics, citing rising homelessness and crime as significant problems.
63% of Oregonians now support a recall of the liberal drug-possession leniency, with 30% saying they “strongly support” it, despite having previously supported the idea of taxing cannabis to build drug treatment facilities.
Promoting drug use, taxing it, and building a drug treatment center with the money, is pure leftwing.
As it turns out, the state is experiencing significant problems executing the promised treatment centers, and as a result, 53% of citizens favored repealing elements of Measure 110.
Portland State University’s School of Public Health conducted an investigation in 2022 that found a 49% gap in substance addiction services, with over half of providers noting a lack of resources to satisfy demand, despite Measure 110’s initial intention of expanding treatment options.
The first $310 million allotted from Measure 110 was delayed significantly and diverted to invest in peer mentors, safe injection kits, and outreach rather than residential treatment.
Oregon has the highest rate of people in need of treatment.
Christine Drazan, a previous candidate for governor of Oregon from the Republican Party, said that the use of hard drugs in public spaces had been normalized and it’s unsafe in our communities.
She claimed that less than one percent of people who engage in such dangerous habits seek help.
A majority of voters (60% or more) believed that Measure 110 would have a negative impact on homelessness, substance abuse, and crime. Drug abuse and mental illness were cited by 59% of respondents as the primary reasons for homelessness, while 37% cited a lack of affordable accommodation.
Compared to the national average increase of 1%, Oregon saw a 23% increase in homelessness between 2020 and 2022, as reported by the 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report.
