"Measure 110 is arguably the biggest blow to the war on drugs to date."
— Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which was behind the measure that just passed in Oregon to decriminalize small amounts of heroin, meth, LSD, and other federal Schedule 1 drugs.
America is still waiting for the official results of our presidential election, but the results of various state elections are in, and they contain some big surprises. Oregon voters achieved a first for the United States — they passied a ballot measure that decriminalizes possession of heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, oxycodone and other so-called "hard drugs."
From the Associated Press:
"Today's victory is a landmark declaration that the time has come to stop criminalizing people for drug use," said Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which was behind the measure. "Measure 110 is arguably the biggest blow to the war on drugs to date."
The measure completely changes how Oregon's justice system treats those who are found with personal-use amounts of the hard drugs.
Instead of going to trial and facing possible jail time, a person would have the option of paying a $100 fine or attending new "addiction recovery centers" funded by millions of dollars of tax revenue from Oregon's legalized, regulated marijuana industry.
The passage of the measure makes Oregon, which in 1973 became the first state to decriminalize marijuana possession, a pioneer in America in trying the same with hard drugs. The measure takes effect 30 days after Tuesday's election, but the punishment changes don't take effect until Feb. 1. Addiction recovery centers must be available by Oct. 1.
More at the Associated Press.
